The Taiwanese-American conductor Shou Ping Liu has enjoyed a multi-faceted career that has brought her to the major concert halls of Europe and the United States. In 2022 she completed a Master’s degree in orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, simultaneously making her Berlin debut with the Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin. In the same year, she also made her New York City debut conducting in Carnegie Hall. Other orchestras she has conducted include the South Denmark Philharmonic, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Romania Philharmonic, Hanns Eisler Symphony Orchestra, Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, Cottbus Philharmonic Orchestra, and Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt.
Throughout her conducting studies, Liu has been an avid participant in conducting festivals and competitions. She became a semi-finalist in the 8th International Conducting Competition Jeunesses Musicales Bucharest, conducting in the Romanian Athenaeum in Budapest as part of the George Enescu Festival. She recently participated in a conducting masterclass with Sir Donald Runnicles of Deutsche Oper. She has attended festivals including Oregon Bach Festival, Wintergreen Music Festival, Nordic Masterclass for Conductors, and the November Peabody Conducting Institute, in which she was one of eight active participants to work under Marin Alsop.
Liu first came to the United States to study piano performance at New England Conservatory. She discovered conducting shortly thereafter, when she embarked on an intensive independent study of the choral and orchestral repertoire with the late Robert Page. This unique apprenticeship led her to a life of conducting diverse genres of music, ranging from choral to symphonic to opera repertoire. In 2020, she completed a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in conducting at the University of Southern California, where she studied with Jo-Michael Scheibe and Larry Livingston. Her principle conducting teachers have included Christian Ehwald, Hans Dieter Baum, Victor Yampolsky, and Jorma Panula. She has previously held positions as the Music Director of Santa Monica Youth Orchestra and the Assistant Conductor for Lyric Opera Theatre in Arizona. Before moving to Connecticut, Liu served as the Director of Performance at Union College in New York, where she conducted Union College Orchestra and Choir. In 2023, Liu was appointed as the Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Studies at Connecticut College. Aside from her academic position, Liu is the Artistic Director for New England Chamber Orchestra, and currently serves as the Director of Young Artists Program in Connecticut Lyric Opera.
Visit her website at: www.shoupingliu.com