|
LIYAO YU, a conductor and mezzo-soprano originally from China, is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Choral Conducting at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, under the mentorship of Dr. William Weinert.
In recent years, Yu has been active on musical stages across both China and the United States. In the 2024–2025 season, she served as the Artistic Director of Fluidity, a Cincinnati-based community choir, presenting three major concerts. She has also held assistant conducting roles with the CCM Alta Petit Treble Choir and the Cincinnati Youth Choir. In 2024, she returned to China as a guest choral director for the Shenzhen Symphonic Choir, where she prepared the choir for a collaboration with the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra in the 2024 New Year Concert: Carmina Burana. That same year, she was Assistant Conductor for the Breathe Collective’s regional premiere of Materna Requiem by British composer Rebecca Dale. Before beginning her musical journey in the United States, Yu served as Assistant Director of the Chamber Choir and Chorale at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music and the Shenzhen Symphonic Orchestra Choir. She also worked as the Music Director of the Children’s Choir at Dongguan Yulan Grand Theatre. As a chorister and solo vocalist, Yu has performed with the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir, CCM Chamber Choir, Spoleto Festival USA, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Berkshire Choral International, and the IU Jacobs Academy Schola Cantorum as a mezzo-soprano and soprano. She also sang for two seasons with the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains in Cincinnati. In the 2025–2026 season, she will join the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati (VAE). |
In May 2025, Yu traveled to France as a visiting scholar at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Saint-Maur. There, she continued her studies in early music, art song, and opera as a Mezzo-Soprano, working closely with Professors Laurence Brisset and Jean-Louis Rovlin through masterclasses and academic exchange.
Yu holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Vocal and Opera Performance with a minor in Choral Conducting from the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, where she graduated as an Outstanding Graduate and was awarded China’s National Scholarship—an honor granted to only the top 1% of students nationwide. She later earned her Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), supported by a full scholarship and graduate assistantship, studying with Dr. Joe Miller and Dr. Brett Scott.
Yu holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Vocal and Opera Performance with a minor in Choral Conducting from the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, where she graduated as an Outstanding Graduate and was awarded China’s National Scholarship—an honor granted to only the top 1% of students nationwide. She later earned her Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), supported by a full scholarship and graduate assistantship, studying with Dr. Joe Miller and Dr. Brett Scott.
