$15 General Admission, $5 Student Tickets (available at the door)
Seated - Doors open at 3:30PM
Jiayan Sun, pianist
Praised by the New York Times for his “revelatory” performances, and by the Toronto Star for his “technically flawless, poetically inspired and immensely assured playing,” pianist Jiayan Sun has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, the Chinese and RTÉ (Ireland) National Symphony Orchestras, the Fort Worth and Toledo Symphony Orchestras, the Toronto and Aspen Concert Orchestras, and the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, and he has conducted from the keyboard the Meiningen Court Orchestra. He has collaborated with prominent conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Michail Jurowski, Stefan Sanderling, Leon Fleisher, David Hayes, Thomas Crawford, Daejin Kim, Kerry Stratton and Xincao Li. His performances have been broadcast by the BBC, the RTÉ, China Central Television, and classical music radio stations in North America. He has performed at and participated in the Verbier Festival, the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, the Aspen Music Festival, the Sarasota Music Festival, and PianoTexas. Under the mentorship of Sir András Schiff, he was invited to give a number of solo recitals in Europe as part of Schiff’s “Building Bridges” project.
Mr. Sun has been awarded prizes at many of the major international piano competitions, including third prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition, second prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition, fourth prize and the audience prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition, first prize at the inaugural CCC Toronto International Piano Competition.
Playing early keyboard instruments and studying historical performance practice have played a significant role in Mr. Sun’s musical activities, with critically acclaimed appearances with the American Classical Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall. Hailing from Yantai, China, he received Bachelor’s, Master’s and the Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Yoheved Kaplinsky and Stephen Hough. His other mentors include pianists Malcolm Bilson, Richard Goode, Robert Levin, and harpsichordist Lionel Party. His devotion to the art of composition led him to study with the composer Philip Lasser. As the Iva Dee Hiatt Visiting Artist in Piano at Smith College, he presented Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas in chronological order, in addition to yearlong series devoted to the music of Schubert and Chopin. He is Assistant Professor of Music and the Associate Chair in Performance Activities at Smith College.
Yang Liu, Pianist
“Her performance was incredibly expressive… effortlessly moving from delicate flourishes to pounding intensity…” (Toronto Star).
Yang Liu, an acclaimed pianist, captivates audiences worldwide with her profound musicianship and extraordinary virtuosity. With a remarkable concerto debut at the age of fourteen with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, she has graced some of the most renowned stages in North America, Europe, and Asia, including the Lincoln Center in New York City, Koerner Hall in Toronto, Beijing Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall, the Château de Fontainebleau in France.
Yang Liu musical prowess has garnered her many prestigious awards, including the First Prize of the Toronto International Piano Competition, First Prize of the professional category of the Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, Second Prize of the Serge; Olga Koussevitzky Young Artist Awards, Fourth Prize of the International Chopin Competition for Young Pianist, among others. She has also participated in esteemed international music festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, PianoTexas, Fontainebleau School of Music, International Musical Artistry Goslar, Imola Summer Music Academy and Festival, and others. In 2014, she became a member of the Musicians Club of New York.
In 2022, Naxos Records released her album “Schubert: German Dances, Ländlers, and Écossaises”, featuring Schubert’s dances performed on both a modern piano and a fortepiano. The album includes world premiere recordings and a Ländler completed by Yang Liu based on Schubert’s fragment. Later in the same year, her album “Dancing on the Keys, Volume I” showcased waltzs by Chopin, Grünfeld/Johann Strauss Jr., Schubert/Richard Strauss, and Ravel, was released on QQ Music in China, increasing her artistic impact to a broader range of listeners.
Yang Liu’s journey to musical stardom began in her hometown of Fuzhou, China. At the young age of ten, she gained admission to the Primary School Affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, marking the beginning of her lifelong dedication to the piano. Her passion led her to the prestigious Juilliard, where she was accepted to the Pre- college Division in 2007, studying under Prof. Victoria Mushkatkol. Her commitment to honing her craft and pursuing excellence led her to earn both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky, a Master of Musical Arts degree from Yale School of Music with Dr. Melvin Chen, and a Doctoral of Musical Arts from Peabody Institute – Johns Hopkins University with Prof. Yong Hi Moon. Additionally, her thirst for diverse musical insights brought her to Italy, where she studied at The Imola International Academy Foundation “Incontri con il Maestro” in Italy with Prof. Vovka Ashkenazy.
In addition to her awe-inspiring performances, Yang Liu is also deeply committed to sharing her passion and expertise with the next generation of musicians. As an avid educator, she has served as the assistant of keyboard studies at the Peabody Institute and is a valued member of the piano faculty at the Smith College, while actively teaching in the New York region. Her students have achieved success in international competitions and gained acceptance into prominent music institutions such as the Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music, and Peabody Institute.