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Young musician in the spotlight
Jennifer Liu was among 12 talented young performing artists and four top visual artists who earned an award at the Music Center of Los Angeles County on Saturday April 14. The local violinist played a compelling rendition of Tchaikovsky's "Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major" at the event. "Jennifer has enormous passion when she performs. She has an emotional connection that you can't help but feel from an audience point-of-view," said Jeri Gaile, director for the Music Center's Spotlight Awards event. "Liu is a dedicated and committed musician. She behaves like a professional. She's very gifted and young, and it's highly unusual," Gaile said. She and the other high school students who won the top two spots in each category received cash scholarships. "It's important to know that the two kids who end up in the finals are both unbelievably talented, they're all winners," Gaile said. These students were selected from among more than 1,155 Southern California applicants who auditioned in the performing arts. Two finalists were named in each of the following categories: ballet, nonclassical dance, classical voice, nonclassical voice, classical instrumental and jazz instrumental music. The semifinalists worked with highly regarded professional artists who offered in-depth insight on performance technique, training and their lives as professional artists, said Leticia Buckley, spokesperson for the Music Center. Jennifer is the daughter of Bob and Shuwei Liu who recently moved to Simi Valley from Oak Park. Shuwei is a violin teacher and Bob works for a local insurance company. Ultimately, Jennifer Liu said she wants to become a professional soloist and play with various orchestras around the world. She enjoys romantic concertos, classical, baroque and contemporary music, she said. The Music Center Spotlight Awards program has launched many professional careers, and it's one of the nation's most acclaimed performing and visual arts educational programs for teens, according to organizers. Liu also won the state contest of VOCE- Vocalists, Orchestral instrumentalists, Chamber music, Ensembles this weekend. She competed in Orange County for that title early Saturday morning before attending rehearsal for the Spotlight Award later that day. Liu's violin skills are the result of much hard work because she seeks perfection when she performs, she said. The 14-year-old practices about three to five hours each day. "That's what you have to do or else you'll never succeed," explained Liu. Playing the violin also keeps her focused, she also noted. She began studying violin at age 4 with her mother and went on to study with Russian violinist Gayaneh Kumar and Russian piano pedagogue Vera Aleksardrovich. In 2005, through the support of the Young Musicians Foundation, Liu was named a Distinguished Young Artist and played in Disney Hall for a special music event that was televised live locally. She's received numerous awards, including the 2005 Bronislaw Kaper Award, the Most Promising Young Musician Scholarship by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Young Musician's Foundation Scholarship. Liu won first place in the young violinist category at the 29th International Young Artists Peninsula Competition, first place in the young violinist category at the 2004 Southwestern Youth Music Festival and was granted a Leni Fe Bland Scholarship and the Southeast Symphony Scholarship. Liu plays in the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra and the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra. When she's not playing the violin or studying for school, Liu said she likes to watch movies with her friends. |
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