Yang Yong has received grants and commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, Massachusetts Cultural Council.
His Su Xiaoxiao's Tomb for soprano and orchestra, commissioned by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, was the only work selected to represent China
at the World Music Days 1997 of the International Society of Contemporary Music in Seoul, Korea. His new orchestral works Valley Spirit, commissioned
by the San José Symphony, and Beyond the Mountains, commissioned by the leading American saxophonist, Kenneth Radnofsky received high critics
acclaims and standing ovations from the audiences after the premier performances in 1999.
Yang's compositions have been honored by many awards nationally and internationally, including several ASCAP Standard Awards, the first prizes
for the 1995 International Award for Musical Composition Ciutat de Tarragona in Spain, the 1992 Valentino Bucchi Prize in Rome, Italy, and many others
first prizes. His music has been played in the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Korea, Yugoslavia, Canada, Sweden, China,
Japan, and the former Soviet Union.