Hailing from Monterey Park, California, Steven Liu is an educator, administrator, and musician. Liu worked as a Teaching Artist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pasadena Symphony’s Science of Sound, and was an inaugural International Teaching faculty member of the National Take A Stand Festival - a joint venture between the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Aspen Music Festival and School, and Longy School of Music of Bard College. Additionally, he was the Director of Educational Programs for the Miami Music Project, the founding Program Director of the Allentown Symphony’s program El Sistema Lehigh Valley, and a Program Coordinator for Fidelity’s Futurestage and Pacific Symphony’s Mentorship program. Liu has been invited to speak about the importance of music education, collective improvisation, and transforming communities through music at conferences hosted by the League of American Orchestras, The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s National Take A Stand Symposium, Xi’an Jiatong Liverpool University, and The University of Arkansas.
He was a recipient of the Sistema Fellowship, a TED Prize-funded program at New England Conservatory in 2011. As a fellow, he received training in pedagogy, non-profit management, partnership formation, and fundraising. He studied organizational best practices in the United States and Venezuela to engage and transform communities. Liu has led collaborative efforts between El Sistema Inspired Programs to create regional symposiums across the U.S., piloted a music education program for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children, and currently advises and consults for Sistema Inspired Programs.
Liu participated in numerous master classes, chamber music festivals, and orchestral music festivals such as Idyllwild, The Golden Gate Bass Festival, and Ameropa, where he received training from bassists including Christian McBride, John Clayton, Trevor Ware, Luther Hughes, David Moore, Dennis Trembly, Jiri Valenta, Charlie DeRamus, David Black, Paul Ellison, George Vance, and François Rabbath. He performed in jazz venues, theaters, and various ensembles including Allentown Symphony, San Bernardino Symphony, Redlands Symphony, The Frank DiBussolo Group, Novo Philharmonic, and several regional orchestras.
Liu received his Master of Fine Arts in Jazz in 2006, and Bachelor of Music Performance: Bass in 2003 at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine, where he studied double bass under David Young, Doug Bayse, Darek Oleszkiewicz, and jazz pianist Kei Akagi.