Katherine Liu, piano
Katherine E. Liu, 14, is a 9th grader living in Wellesley, MA. She started her musical journey at age three and performed publicly at Boston's Steinway Hall one year later. She has received top prizes in numerous regional and international piano competitions – Grand Prix at the VI Chopin International Piano Competition in Connecticut and the Soloists of New England Competition, and First Place at the III Krystian Tkaczewski International Piano Competition in Poland, the NEPTA Mildred Freiberg Middle School Competition, the Martha B. Sosman Concerto Competition, the Rivers Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Brockton Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Steinway Society Piano Competition, and the Bay State Piano Competition, among many others. Katherine was also selected to compete in the prestigious Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists, where she advanced to the semi-finals.
Over the past two years, Katherine has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Rivers Symphony Orchestra and the Massachusetts Youth Symphony Project. She also performed and worked with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in a concerto masterclass. In 2019, Katherine won third prize at the Yamaha USASU International Piano Competition, and first prize at the X Chopin International Piano Competition. Most recently, Katherine participated in the Cliburn Junior Festival as one of 14 selected pianists and won first prize at the Rosewood Fanning International Piano Competition.
Having made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2015, Katherine has performed in the Cartoon Festival at Boston's Symphony Hall several times and has also been featured on WCRB 99.5 with host Cathy Fuller. Katherine made her appearance on NPR's From the Top with host Christopher O'Riley at Jordan Hall in 2016 and participated in several charity and fundraising events, such as the From the Top Gala and the From the Top Soirée. She took part in several From the Top YouTube video productions, including the big hits "Star Wars Mashup" and "Fantastic Musicians and Where to Find Them."
Katherine is honored to have been a presenter at the Story Gathering Conference in Nashville, TN; the Imagine Solutions Conference in Naples, FL; and the E.G. Conference in Carmel, CA. Hailed by the press, "Katherine Liu, blows us away with her piano prowess & admirable aspirations..." Performing in renowned concert halls across the globe, Katherine has appeared at venues such as the CMA Theater in Nashville, the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Merkin Hall in New York City, Mixon Hall and Kulas Hall in Cleveland, Sanatorium Marconi in Poland, Katzin Hall in Arizona, and Caruth Auditorium in Dallas. In 2018, Katherine was invited to perform at the Lato z Chopinem Festival in Poland.
Katherine has worked with many great international pianists and musicians such as Alexander Ghindin, Sean Chen, Valery Kuleshov, Wha Kyung Byun, Caroline Oltmanns, Krystian Tkaczewski, and Maestro Ruth Reinhardt. Katherine currently studies with HaeSun Paik at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. Past teachers of Katherine include Fumei Huang, Dorothy Shi and A. Ramon Rivera. In her free time, Katherine loves to read, swim, dance, and explore the art of mathematics.
