Winners of the 2023 American Prize, the 2022 Medici International Competition, the 2021 International Artist Award, and the 2020 Silver Medal at the Global Music Awards, Yang & Olivia are an internationally recognized violin–piano duo celebrated for virtuosic artistry, compelling storytelling, and a global musical vision. Their programs blend classical masterworks with contemporary repertoire from around the world, creating performances that transcend cultural boundaries and invite meaningful connection.
The duo has appeared extensively across the United States as featured recitalists for concert associations and universities, and internationally at major venues and festivals including the Ravinia Festival, the Kennedy Center, the SESC Music Festival in Brazil, the Algarve Music Festival in Portugal, and throughout China. Their concerts are noted for both technical brilliance and thoughtfully curated programming that bridges traditions, histories, and perspectives.
Violinist Yang Liu, a prizewinner of the Twelfth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, is also a first-prize winner of the 2023 American Prize in String Performance, the 2022 Medici International Competition, the 2021 International Artist Award, and China’s 5th National Violin Competition. His performances have been praised for their expressive intensity and commanding presence.
Pianist Olivia Tsai is a respected pedagogue, scholar, and arts leader. A frequent presenter at national conferences including MTNA, CMS, NCKP, and GP3, she is recognized for her advocacy of music rooted in Chinese and Taiwanese heritage and for her leadership in expanding the chamber music canon through cross-cultural repertoire and contemporary works.
Together, Yang & Olivia founded the Yang & Olivia Arts Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion through music performance, commissioning, and community engagement. Their recent programming highlights contemporary works by Taiwanese women composers, Brazilian composers, and emerging American voices. Outreach initiatives extend their work to schools, libraries, senior communities, and faith-based venues, reinforcing their belief that chamber music belongs within the broader civic and cultural landscape.
Their innovative collaborations have included interdisciplinary performances integrating live painting by the Zhou Brothers and poetry recitation by renowned Chinese poet Bei Dao, expanding the concert experience beyond traditional formats. Their artistic initiatives have been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Mid-Atlantic Arts, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
Yang & Olivia’s partnership began at the University of Cincinnati, where a last-minute request for a page-turner sparked a lifelong artistic collaboration. United by shared faith, cultural perspective, and artistic purpose, they continue to perform as both life partners and musical partners — committed to sharing music that reflects joy, resilience, and the richness of human experience.
Yang Liu is an internationally acclaimed violinist whose performances have captivated audiences across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. A prizewinner of the Twelfth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, he is also the 2023 American Prize winner in String Performance and a first-prize winner of the 2022 Medici International Competition, the 2021 International Artists Award, and China’s 5th National Violin Competition.
Mr. Liu made his North American debut with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performing Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and has since appeared as soloist with the St. Louis Symphony under Robert Spano, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Odense Symphony Orchestra (Denmark), the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (Brazil), and numerous others. In the Chicago region, he has collaborated with Ars Viva, the Lake Forest Symphony, Highland Park Strings, the North Park Symphony, and the Oak Park Symphony.
As part of a U.S.–China cultural exchange initiative led by Secretary of State John Kerry and China’s Cultural Department Chairman Luo, Mr. Liu toured five cities in China performing the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra. Over the course of his career, he has performed in more than forty countries, serving as a musical ambassador across cultures.
Deeply committed to cultural dialogue and artistic inclusion, Mr. Liu is founder of the Yang & Olivia Arts Foundation and Momento Virtuosi, a chamber ensemble celebrating diversity of ethnicity and instrumentation. Through performance, commissioning, and community engagement, he advocates for repertoire that reflects a broad spectrum of global voices.
His artistic journey has been documented in the nationally broadcast CCTV documentary String of Heart – Yang Liu and in his autobiography, Performing in Love (2014). He has appeared on China’s premier New Year’s television special, reaching tens of millions of viewers, and was featured in the Emmy Award–winning video Classical Quest. His debut album, Song of Nostalgia, has received wide acclaim and frequent broadcasts on National Public Radio in the United States.
Mr. Liu regularly performs and teaches at leading festivals and academies, including the Great Wall Music Academy, Aspen Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, and the SESC Music Festival in Brazil, and is a frequent guest on Chicago’s WFMT. He presents masterclasses at conservatories and universities worldwide.
Born in China, Mr. Liu studied with Lin Yaoji in Beijing before continuing his studies in the United States with Kurt Sassmannshaus and Dorothy DeLay. He performs on a 1741 Guarneri violin, generously loaned by the Stradivari Society. He resides in Chicago with his wife and musical partner, Olivia, and their two sons.
Dr. Olivia I-Hsuan Tsai is Professor of Piano at VanderCook College of Music and an internationally active performer, scholar, and arts leader. Recognized for her advocacy of culturally diverse repertoire and cross-cultural dialogue, she is a frequent presenter at major national conferences including the College Music Society (CMS), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), and the Illinois State Music Teachers Association (ISMTA). Her presentations regularly highlight music shaped by global traditions, expanding the pedagogical and performance canon.
Her scholarly work includes the publication of Schubert’s Piano Trios (Scholar’s Press, Germany, 2014), reflecting her deep engagement with both analytical inquiry and performance practice. In 2017, she was appointed Guest Professor at Lanzhou Northwestern University in China and has presented lecture-recitals and masterclasses at institutions across the United States, including Roosevelt University, Northeastern Illinois University, Coastal Carolina University, and the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
As a performer, Dr. Tsai has appeared as soloist with the Qingdao Concert Hall Orchestra in China, the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and Highland Park Strings. She has served as staff pianist at the Aspen Music Festival and Musicorda Festival and has been invited as artist faculty and performer at international festivals including the Oficina Music Festival and Curitiba Music Festival in Brazil and the Algarve Music Festival in Portugal.
In 2018, Dr. Tsai co-founded the Yang & Olivia Arts Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting music of diverse cultural influences through performance, commissioning, and community engagement. The Foundation’s work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Western Arts Alliance, and other national arts organizations.
Originally from Taiwan, Dr. Tsai came to the United States in 1993 as both a pianist and bassoonist. She earned her Bachelor of Music with high scholastic honors and completed dual Master of Music degrees in Piano and Bassoon at Indiana University, Bloomington, as an Emma E. Claus Scholarship recipient. She later received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she also served on the faculty of the Preparatory Department. During her studies, she was the recipient of multiple competition awards, including the Buckeye Piano Competition, the Graves Piano Competition, and Taiwan’s Young Artist Series.
Through her multifaceted career as performer, educator, and scholar, Dr. Tsai continues to foster artistic excellence while championing music as a bridge across cultures and communities.