Anqi Liu started her formal compositional studies at the age of twenty-three. Despite this late beginning, her music has been performed across the U.S, Europe and Asia at venues and concert halls like Le Poisson Rouge (NYC), Shapeshifter Lab (NYC), the Firehouse Space (NYC), Dusk Dawn Club, Beijing Mao Live House, INNER FIELD New York, Heluting Concert Hall at Shanghai Conservatory, Suzhou Art Center, Central Conservatory Concert Hall, Palace of Fontainebleau and others. She has been commissioned by and has been working with a group of musicians and ensembles including Meraki Chamber Players based in New York City, New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra, Mivos Quartet, Air Contemporary Music Collection based at Central Conservatory in Beijing, Vanguard Culture San Diego, Nouveau Classical Project based in New York City, Norrbotten NEO Sweden, and many others. She was the finalist of the International Composition Competition "Maurice Ravel-Italy 2016” and was the First Place for the Chinese Nationalities in category B—Large Chamber category. A symphonic piece of Liu’s won the first prize at XII International Competition DONNE IN MUSICA 2015. She was the winner of “Marion Tournon-Branly” for site-specific sonic and visual arts installation. She has been selected to attend summer academies and conferences such as Kalv Music Academy in Sweden, Ecoles d'Art Américaines de Fontainebleau in France with full scholarship award, International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) 2017 with travel grand from ICMA, California Electronic Music Exchange Concert (CEMEC) - Stanford 2018.
Pursuing her Ph.D. under the advise of Lei Liang at UC San Diego, Liu got her bachelor degrees in Law and Music Performance at Xiamen University and an MA in Composition from Rutgers University. Distinct from a conventional compositional training, her music degree included extensive travels throughout the Chinese hinterlands to seek for and study the original folk music of Chinese minority groups. During her time in America, Liu has focused on avant-garde acoustic experiments and electroacoustics and exploring diverse possibilities on sound itself. At UCSD, she studied electroacoustic with Rand Steiger, Miller Puckette, Tom Erbe and Natasha Diels. She starts to play with modular synthesizers after studying with Tom Erbe. Her composition teachers include Anthony Davis, Roger Reynolds, Rand Steiger, Chinary Ung, Zhou Long, Chen Yi, Paul Rudy, Robert Aldridge, Charles Fussell and Gerald Chenoweth. In addition, she had composition lessons with Allain Gaussin, François Paris, Pierluigi Billone and Per Mårtensson.
Being born and raised in an ethnic minority family in Inner Mongolia, the autonomous region in Northern China, her identity has always felt complex. During her time in the U.S., she became more aware of how her identity as a Manchu-Mongolian was distinct from other Chinese born composers. She also noticed the underrepresentation, and even misrepresentation of Mongolian music in the western world and these experiences drove her to try and use her work as a composer to give an authentic voice to the underrepresented culture she came from. Since starting her Ph.D. studies at UC San Diego, she has tried to re-decipher what her background truly means to her and how she can illustrate it in a more tangible and profound way in her music.
PERFORMANCES | EXHIBITION
07/ 2019 in that Void, you See a Light Beam through Shadows for Shakuhachi, Sheng, Guchin (Guqin) and two Percussions
Commissioned work from Central Conservatory based Air Contemporary Music Collection
Premier at Concert Hall, Central Conservatory
04/2019 Light Beams through Dusts, through a Mist of Moistures for solo contrabass
Commissioned | Collaborative work with Kyle Motl
Premier at Space 4 Art, San Diego
04/2019 Now and Then site-specific installation based on the contrabass solo for Kyle
@ Space 4 Art, San Diego
12/2018 a Hallucination night Modular Synth live performance
a semi-private live Modular Synth show at Locke Pub @ Suzhou, China
12/2018 I Hear Light Beams, You? an Art Installation
Fallen Tree Exhibitions (Contemporary Art in Redefined Spaces), Lafayette Hotel, San Diego, CA, U.S.
11/2018 Wave Coming… for flute, trumpet, baritone, piano, and percussion
Full Jury Concert, UC San Diego Conrad Prebys Music Center, San Diego, CA, U.S.
08/ 2018 i for flute, violin, viola, cello, piano and percussion, one of the Selected Composers
Commissioned work by Composition Academy in Kalv Festival 2018
Premiered by Norrbotten NEO @ Gothenburg, Sweden
06/2018 Reliquary Sound/ Photography Installation as one space among fourteen spaces in the event Sensorium, Downtown San Diego. Collaboration with Tiange Zhou
04/18 Ocean Pearl Teardrops 8 Channel Sound Diffusion.
CEMEC-UCSD Forth performance at Experimental Theater, Conrad Prebys Music Center, UCSD
04/2018 Water Flow, Field Recording Sample based Fixed Media - 8 Channel Sound Diffusion with live percussion solo with video projection and staging design
Premiere at Experimental Theater, Conrad Prebys Music Center, UCSD
04/2018 Ocean Pearl Teardrops, Selected work @ CEMEC-Stanford- 8 Channel Sound Diffusion
Third performance at CCRMAR, Stanford
01/2018 From Stillness for trumpet, for double bass and sectional prepared piano
premiered at UC San Diego Conrad Prebys Music Center, San Diego, CA
10/2017 Pastoral for string quartet and electroacoustic selected piece (fourth performance) at 43rd ICMC (International Computer Music Conference), He Luting Concert Hall, Shanghai Conservatory, Shanghai, China
07/2017 Kings for installation and electroacoustic
premiered at the Palace of Fontainebleau, France
07/2017 Spallation for string quartet and piano,
premiered at the Palace of Fontainebleau, France
06/2017 for flute, clarinet, cello, percussions Composition for Kandinsky composition vii and electronics
fifth performance at Connecticut Summerfest Contemporary Music Festival by the ensemble in residence MCP at Berkman Recital Hall, University of Hartford, Connecticut.
03/2017 Ocean Pearl Teardrops-- 8 Channels Sound Diffusion-- Selected work at EMCC
U.S. Premiered at White Hall, Kansas City
01/2017 Ocean Pearl Teardrops for Fixed Media and Real-Time Performance
Premiered at Dusk Dawn Club, Beijing, China
10/2016 Composition for Kandinsky composition vii and electronics for flute, clarinet, cello, percussions
fourth performance at Leshowitz Recital Hall of Montclair University, NJ
10/2016 Pastoral for string quartet and fixed media
second performance at White Recital Hall, Kansas City
06/2016 Composition for Kandinsky composition vii
for flute, clarinet, cello, percussions and electronics
third performance at Firehouse Space, New York
for flute, clarinet, cello, percussions Composition for Kandinsky composition vii05/2016 and electronics
second performance at Composers’ Voice Concert at Firehouse Space, New York
05/2016 Variations for Chamber Orchestra for 16 players
premiere by Helix! New Music Ensemble at Le Poisson Rouge, New York.
04/2016 Pastoral for string quartet
premiere by New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra at Zimmerli Art Museum
for flute, clarinet, cello, percussions Composition for Kandinsky composition vii 04/2016 and electronics
premiere at Shapeshifter Lab, New York
02/2016 Electroacoustic soundscape Whale Song-Ocean Dream with installations
performed at INNER FIELD, New York
10/2015 O for Flute Quartet
third performance at Brooklyner, New York.
Attimo for Flute, Clarinet, Strings and Piano
second performance at Brooklyner, New York.
for Flute, Clarinet, Strings Attimo04/2015 and Piano
premiere at Le Poisson Rouge, New York City.
03/2015 O for Flute Quartet, second performance at Zimmerli Art Museum.
11/2014 O for Flute Quartet
premiere by Rutgers New Music ensemble, Helix! at Helix! concert, Nicholas Music
Center.
11/2014 The Five Trigrams of I-Ching for large Percussion Ensemble
premiere by Rutgers Percussion Ensemble at Percussion Ensemble Concert,
Nicholas Music Center.
11/2014 Fall for Prepared Piano, Piano Improvisation and Electronic Acoustic” premiere with choreography
on the BFA SENIOR SOLO/DUET CONCERT at Lorre Dance Theater
10/2014 Isolation for Pierrot Ensemble
premiere by the Nouveau Classical Project at NCP New Music Concert, Schare Recital Hall.
09/2014 Piano accompaniment at Rutgers Community Christian Church.
Psalms-Jesus listen to my 06/2014 pray for Christian Community
premiere by Rutgers Community Christian Church Choir.
11/2013 Burning Snow —a film score
premiere with choreography on the BFA SENIOR SOLO/DUET CONCERT,
Lorre Dance Theater