Professional Summary
Yunbei Liu is recognized as a talented cellist with innate musicality, stunning virtuosity, and sincere musical expression that leaves a lasting impression on audiences wherever she performs.
Liu began her cello studies at the age of five and was admitted to the Primary School Affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at ten. Two years later, she was admitted to the middle school without an entrance audition by outstanding academic and artistic performances, studying under Professor Dahai Liu. She completed her Bachelor of Music at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music of the National University of Singapore on a full scholarship under Professor Li-Wei Qin. She earned her Master of Music from the Juilliard School, studying with Nicholas Tzavaras, Yeonjin Kim, and Sihao He at the Tianjin branch, also on a full scholarship and assistantship. Liu is currently pursuing her Doctoral of Musical Arts in cello performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music on a full scholarship, studying under Alan Rafferty. She is taking Orchestral Conducting as a cognate and studying with Dr. Aik Kuai Pung.
In 2021, Liu won first prize at the Bonn "Grand Prize Virtuoso" International Music Competition. As a soloist, she has performed in notable events including Henri Dutilleux's 3 Strophes sur le nom de SACHER during the 2019 “Sounding Now” Festival in Singapore, Stravinsky's Suite Italienne (arr. Piatigorsky) with pianist Jinzhao Xu at the 2023 Tianjin Juilliard “Festival Connect,” and Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor with the Liangshan Symphony Orchestra under Qingshi Tang in June 2023. As Principal Cellist of the QingXin Ensemble, she performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2023 Summer Davos Forum in China. In May 2024, as winner of the 2023–24 Tianjin Juilliard Concerto Competition, she performed Walton’s Cello Concerto with the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra under Ken Lem’s baton. She also attended the 2024 Aspen Music Festival and School on a fellowship, studying with Richard Aaron and Eric Kim.
As an experienced orchestral musician, Liu has served as Co-Principal Cellist of the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra and as Principal Cellist of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Middle School, the inaugural NYO-China, the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra, the QingXin Ensemble, and the Major Ensemble. She has collaborated with and been mentored by distinguished musicians including conductors Lan Shui, Shao-Chia Lü, and Ludovic Morlot, pianist Yuja Wang, and violinists Siqing Lü, Wei He, and Xiang Angelo Yu. Starting from 2025, she serves as a core cellist with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra.
Deeply committed to chamber music, Liu’s recent collaborations include performing and recording Mozart’s complete flute quartets with flutist Gergely Ittzés, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet with violist Hsin-Yun Huang and clarinetist Xiangyu Zhou, and Dvorák’s Wind Serenade with woodwind professors including Akio Koyama, Xiaoguang Han, and Mingjia Liu.
Beyond performance, Liu is dedicated to public service and music advocacy. She has held student leadership roles since middle school and was a member of the Tianjin Juilliard Graduate Student Advisory Council. In 2020, she joined “Jhao-Yin Academy,” a leading music student public service organization in China, as a core operational member. That same year, she recorded JJ Lin’s tribute song “Stay with You” as a solo cellist, honoring healthcare workers during the pandemic. She was honored as Class Ambassador upon graduating from Yong Siew Toh and received the Dean’s List Award, Outstanding Graduate Award, and Joseph Polisi Honor Award from Tianjin Juilliard.
Liu is also an enthusiastic educator. She has taught cello at Shanghai Hanying Culture & Art Center, Shanghai Gumi Music, and Singapore’s Melody Strings Art School; served as a section instructor for the Kids’ Philharmonic Orchestra of Singapore; worked as a Music Theory and Ear Training teaching assistant at the Tianjin Juilliard Pre-College; and currently serves as a cello teacher at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati and a Graduate Assistant at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Starting fall 2026, Liu joins CCM Prep and serves as the assistant conductor with the CJS and CJS Concertino.
Education
Master of Music: The Tianjin Juilliard School Tianjin, China, 2024 (Instrumental and Orchestral Studies-Cello)
Bachelor of Music: Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, University of Singapore Singapore, 2021 (Cello Performance)