Xiaoya Liu

Pianist Xiaoya Liu has captured the imagination of worldwide audiences through her profound artistry and charismatic performances as concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across Asia, Europe, and the United States with orchestras such as the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Round Rock Symphony, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, the GSIM Festival Orchestra and in venues including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Hill Auditorium, Palazzo Biscari, and Shanghai Concert Hall.​

Engagements this season include Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto and Florence Price Piano Concerto with the Marquette Symphony Orchestra and the UM Life Sciences Orchestra.

Xiaoya was a top prize winner in the Sicily International Piano Competition, the Wideman International Piano Competition, the New York International Artists Piano Competition, the Paris Music Competition, the American Prize, and the Winner of both the PianoTexas Concerto Competition and the University of Michigan Concerto Competition. She has been a featured artist at the Crystal Valley Concert Series and the American Liszt Society Festival.​

A recipient of full scholarships from prestigious music festivals worldwide, Xiaoya has worked alongside such artists as Yefim Bronfman, Stephen Hough, Leslie Howard, Dmitry Rachmanov, Pascal Rogé, Paul Schoenfeld, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Melvyn Tan, and conductors Miguel Harth-Bedo and Kenneth Kiesler.​

Xiaoya received a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance with a concurrent second Master’s degree in Piano Chamber Music from the University of Michigan, a Master’s degree in Piano Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelor’s (Honors) degree in Piano Performance from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music – National University of Singapore. Her principal teachers include Christopher Harding, Natalya Antonova, Enrico Elisi, and Thomas Hecht.

Xiaoya was the recipient of the Earl V. Moore Award, one of the highest honors given for outstanding achievement by the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.​

Her CD album (world premiere) of Carl Vine Complete Piano Sonatas will be released under Dynamic in 2022.