Yang and Olivia Named Artists-in-Residence at American Music Institute

American Music Institute has named violinist Yang Liu and pianist Olivia Tsai, known together as Yang and Olivia, as Artists-in-Residence and AMI College Faculty Members.

The partnership will give AMI students and members of the wider community opportunities to work with the duo through lessons, workshops and masterclasses, as well as experience their work in performance. American Music Institute operates campuses in Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Geneva and St. Charles, Illinois.

Yang and Olivia perform a repertoire spanning contemporary and classical music from around the world. The duo has appeared in more than 30 cities across the United States and has also performed and taught internationally in China, Portugal, Brazil and Taiwan. Both musicians currently serve on the faculty of VanderCook College of Music.

Liu is a prize winner of the 12th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and a first-prize winner of the Medici International Music Competition, International Artists Award Competition and China's National Violin Competition. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Danish Royal Odense Philharmonic.

His repertoire ranges from Baroque and contemporary works to Western classical and Eastern traditional music. Liu studied at the Central Conservatory in Beijing and the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.

Tsai is an associate professor at VanderCook College of Music and has appeared as a soloist with the QingDao Concert Hall Orchestra, Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra and Highland Park Strings. She has also served as a staff pianist at the Aspen Music Festival and Musicorda Music Festival and as an artist faculty member and performer at festivals in Brazil and Portugal.

In addition to her performing and teaching work, Tsai is the author of Schubert's Piano Trios, published in 2014. She has also been named a Steinway Teacher through the STEP Program, providing AMI piano students with opportunities to perform recitals at Steinway venues.

In 2018, Liu and Tsai co-founded the Yang and Olivia Foundation to promote cultural exchange through classical music. The organization has since expanded its mission to advocate for diversity and inclusion through music representing a range of cultural influences.

Through their new roles at American Music Institute, Yang and Olivia will offer performances, masterclasses, workshops and lessons to students and the community. Additional information is available through American Music Institute.