As reported in The Australian, David Tong, a former concert pianist turned pilot, has died after his plane crashed in a mountainous area of Papua New Guinea.

Tong, who played with Australia’s state symphony orchestras and recorded for Melba Recordings, was born in Macao in 1983. His family moved to Australia when he was six where he began taking piano lessons. He appeared with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at age nine and won the keyboard section of the Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards when he was 12. After an extensive period of study with Stephen McIntyre at Melbourne University, Tong went on to study at the Juilliard School of Music in New York where he won the Vladimir Horowitz scholarship.

David TongDavid Tong

The recipient of a number of prestigious awards, he won the silver medal at the inaugural 2008 Grand Bohemian Orlando International Piano Competition. He played with Australia’s major orchestras, went on an Asian tour with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and gave a number of solo recitals. Other engagements included a performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the 2002 Sydney Festival’s Domain Concert and appearances with the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra...