Pianist Guannan Alice Liu, 22, was born and raised in Shenzhen, China, and started playing the piano at the age of four. Her love for piano blossomed when she went to Toronto for high school at age 14, where she studied with Dr. Jeanie Chung and Janet Stanton. Alice recently graduated from Bienen School of Music of Northwestern University with a Bachelor’s of Music degree in Piano Performance where she studied with Dr. Sylvia Wang.
Alice is the winner of Illinois MTNA Competition “Young Artist Performance” and Northwestern Concerto/Aria Competition, as well as receiving 2nd prize of the Huang Long Piano Competition in China. She passed Level 10 of the Royal Conservatory of Music Piano Exams scoring in the “A” percentile. She is also the recipient of Linda STEARNS ’56 Prize for Music and Vivian ’04 & Joyce ’06 HO Award for the Love of Music offered by her high school, Branksome Hall.
Alice made her orchestral debut in 2016, performing the Grieg Concerto in a minor with Branksome Hall Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Scott Harbin. She recently performed the Poulenc Piano Concerto with Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Robert G. Hasty in March, 2020. Her performance of Schumann was featured on the documentary Chicago by “L” with Jeoffrey Baer that was broadcasted on Chicago television station WTTW. She has also performed in Germany, Spain, China, and the United States. Additionally, Alice has performed collaboratively with singers and instrumentalists coached by Dr. Yasuko Oura and Dr. Sylvia Wang.
She recently participated in the Gijón International Piano Festival, Adamant Music School Master Class Series and Saarburg International Music Festival, where she had lessons and masterclasses with world-renowned pianists such as John O’Conor, Logan Skelton, James Giles, Jean Saulnier, José Ramón Mendez and Christopher Elton.
Alice also enjoys teaching students. She has taught students of various levels and age groups under the guidance of Dr. Marcia Bosits.