Dr. Wenjing Liu

Described as a passionate, yet intense pianist full of musicality, Dr. Wenjing Liu, a solo performer and chamber musician, has intensely performed throughout the United States, China, and Italy. A scope of her concert engagement expands from prestigious professional concert venues, such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and Steinway Hall in New York, to major academic institute worldwide, such as University of Southern California, California State University-Fullerton, Illinois State University, and the University of Tennessee as a guest artist. She performed in various music festivals including Amalfi Coast Music Festival (Italy), Schlern Music Festival (Italy), PianoSummer in New Paultz (New York) and Rebecca Pennys Piano Festival (Florida).

A solo pianist of national and international acclaim, Dr. Liu received the first-prize at the American Protégé International Competition in New York City, Asia Teenager Piano Competition in China, second-prize in the 17th American Piano Competition of Yantai China, and was also a finalist in the Schlern International Piano Competition in Italy and The Kankakee Piano Concerto Competition in the United States. As a chamber musician, she performed in various groups and venues including Carnegie Hall in New York City and Vὅls Town Hall in Italy. She started to collaborate with saxophonist John Hallberg since 2014, and the duo frequently appears in major concert halls and institutes. 

Dr. Wenjing Liu previously taught at the University of Iowa, where her position allowed her to teach group piano classes and non-major piano lessons. She is also a frequent lecturer and master class clinician at educational institutions around the world, most recently presenting at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music and Shandong University at Weihai in China. 

Additionally, she frequently collaborated with the UI symphony band as a principle pianist, the UI opera production as a rehearsal pianist, and played numerous chamber music concerts with the UI School of Music faculty and students. Besides performance engagements at school, Dr. Liu also voluntarily performed for local communities such as the University of Iowa Hospital Center and Old Capital Piano Sundays Music Series in Iowa City, and Seal Beach Scholarship Fund Rising Program.

Beginning her piano studies at the early age of 6, Wenjing Liu holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from University of Iowa under the guidance of Russian pianist Ksenia Nosikova, a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano from Illinois State University, and a Bachelor of Music from Shandong University at Weihai. Her other instructors include Yuanji Fan, Gellert Modos, and Tuyen Tonnu.