Lim Yau is a graduate of 2 prestigious music schools, the Royal College of Music (RCM) and Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD), London, UK. During his time in Europe, he had the privilege of studying with eminent conductors, such as Franco Ferrara at the Accademia Musicale Chigians in Siena, and Sergiu Celibidache in Munich from whom he had won a scholarship to work with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
Prior to joining the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Lim Yau was a Resident Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Singapore Symphony Chorus, a dual appointment he assumed since 2001. He has performed in various concerts and recordings in Asia and Europe, and he has had a prolific career in opera and ballet conducting, performing no less than 30 productions. As a keen advocate of Singaporean composers, he has also premiered works by every major Singaporean composer.
Lim Yau’s passion and enthusiasm for choral music led to the formation of The Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra in 1998, which is recognised as one of the most prominent chamber choirs in the region. With The Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Lim Yau has helped proliferate the symphonic cycle as a manifestation of performance practice studies that have broken new ground in symphonic concert programming in Singapore.
In recognition of his contributions to music, Lim Yau was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1990, and the Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on him by COMPASS.