A native of Harbin, China, pianist Tong Liu is on the rise to become a multifaceted musician. She is passionate about performing, teaching and being an art administrator. She was determined to pursue a career in music when she was commuting twelve hours on the train from Harbin to Beijing to take piano lessons. Since her education in America, she has appeared as both soloist and accompanist world-wide. Most recent performances include North Carolina, California, Idaho, Las Vegas, and Utah in United States; along with Luxembourg in Europe and major cities in China. She is an active pianist when she is attending school; participating in different chamber groups, accompanying all instrument and vocal types, and frequently gives collaborative recitals throughout the year. As an opera accompanist, she worked as a rehearsal pianist for Townsend Opera’s premier production “Tawawa House” in Modesto, California and the opera “Carmen” for the Utah Valley Arts Academy’s Summer Festival. She was also invited to the Chinese mid-autumn festival celebration as a collaborator with violinist Lu Nan in Salt Lake City, Utah. As a soloist, she had the opportunity to perform solo concerts organized by Davis Art Council in Utah, solo recitals in BYU-Idaho and University of Utah.
Ms. Liu has performed well in piano competitions including Musicians West Piano Competition and Idaho Federation of Music Competition. Tong was also the winner of the concerto competition at BYU-Idaho, where she performed Schumann A minor piano concerto with the BYUI orchestra. As a scholarship receiver of Brevard Music Center Festival, Edward Auer summer workshop, and Vianden Music Festival; she had a chance to study with Craig Nies, Edward Auer, Junghwa Moon Auer, Nicolas Roth, Yoshi Akimoto, and Anthony Padilla. She is also an active performer for masterclasses. She had taken masterclasses with Paul Barnes, Asaf Zohar, Geoffrey Burleson, and Anton Nel; where she had learned the importance of artistry in piano playing.
As a member of Music Teachers National Association, Tong Liu not only maintains a busy performance schedule, but also runs a successful piano studio. She has brought many performance opportunities to her students throughout the greater Salt Lake City area. Many of her students have participated in the Monster Concert at University of Utah, as well as benefit concerts based in Salt Lake City. Her students have performed well in Royal Conservatory of Music Exams and were invited to the Gala Concert. She held student recitals every year to encourage her students to perform for the audience. She does not limit her piano teaching to private settings, as she also teaches group piano lessons for the University of Utah outreach program, along with Let’s Play Music-Bridge where she teaches up to thirteen students in one class period. She had also worked as an orchestra and band teacher for the Granite school district where she taught the students how to play their instruments from the beginning and how to work with others. She had also judged for Idaho Music Teachers Association piano festivals and panel jury for Mundi Pathways where she worked with talented young performers to bring piano recitals to various elementary schools in Salt Lake City. She enjoys teaching and hopes to share her passion of music through her knowledge and to change students’ perspectives on music.
As an art administrator, she worked with U.S. Beacon International Music Festival based in San Jose to act as a communicator/recruiter for U.S. performers. Her job included recruiting the performers and select repertoires for performers to showcase at the festival. She has also arranged to bring pianists to perform at various events in China. Some of the events include opening concert for Music Carnival Festival in Dalian, along with masterclasses at Steinway concert hall in Harbin and Changchun. Her mission is to capture and elevate the appreciation level of the general public in China and to enhance the music teaching quality by bringing internationally-claimed artists and teachers.
Tong Liu is currently studying at the University of Utah where she is on scholarship and pursuing her Master’s Degree with Dr. Vedrana Subotic. Before studying at The University of Utah, she completed her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance under the direction of Dr. Stephen Thomas with full-ride scholarship. She had also spent two years at California State University, Stanislaus and studied with Dr. Benjamin Boren. Her education in China included studying with Dr. Tong Bo, professor at Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
