Pianist Yubo Weng entered the 2026 National Youth Music Competition (NYMC) stone cold sober. He had never played in a live music competition before.
“I thought the contest would be a great opportunity to get exposure,” he says.
The Grade 10 learner at Hilton College in KwaZulu-Natal hails from Umhlanga and started his musical journey just over eight years ago, playing the guitar. Like last year’s gold medallist, Hermanus Schmidt, he only started playing the piano during the Covid pandemic by teaching himself.
Within a year of starting the piano, Yubo passed the Trinity Grade 8 classical piano exams with distinction.
Daniel Brody, a medal winner at the 2019 NYMC, is currently his music teacher.
He believes that through the NYMC he will gain useful experience and receive professional feedback that can help him improve as a pianist. He is one of the five contestants from KwaZulu-Natal who were selected for this year’s competition.
The rising star has two brothers who both play the piano and the drums. “We are the first-generation musicians in our family.”
Apart from the piano, which is his favourite musical instrument, Yubo also plays the guitar and marimba, and he sings. At age 10, he passed Grade 8 Trinity and Rockschool guitar and vocals exams. Three years later, he passed Grade 5 ABRSM marimba, as well as the Level 6 performance diploma in guitar.
His favourite composer is Frédéric Chopin. “I love how Chopin was able to create piano melodies that sound like the human voice,” he ponders.
The talented musician practices an hour per day, and in his free time, enjoys playing chess.
On completion of his education, Yubo wants to be an entrepreneur.
Should he be able to be an inanimate object, he would like to be a key. “I would be able to open locked doors and open new paths and opportunities,” he says.
Yubo describes himself as a Christian and lives by the motto: “Be strong and courageous”, the Bible verse from Joshua 1:9.