Rong-Huey Liu
Hailed as “a phenomenal, expressive oboist”, Taiwanese American, Dr. Rong-Huey Liu is one of Southern California’s most active oboists. She holds principal positions in the Long Beach Symphony, Los Angeles Ballet Orchestra, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic, and Riverside Philharmonic.
Dr. Liu is in high demand as a multi-faceted soloist. In July 2020, she was invited to present a solo recital at the First International Double Reed Society Virtual Conference. She has performed the oboe concertos of Bach, Corigliano, Daugherty, Ferrer Ferran, Handel, Kalliwoda, Lebrun, Marcello, Mozart, Walter Saul, and Óscar Navarro. Her recording on Saul’s "Kiev 2014: Rhapsody for Oboe and Orchestra" with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine on Naxos has garnered critical acclaim for "sublime playing and crisp performance, technically adept but filled with quiet perseverance and passion." In a last- minute step-in concerto appearance with the Reno Chamber Orchestra, Dr. Liu was praised by critics for her “obvious confidence and captivating performance". Her Lebrun Oboe Concerto performance with Long Beach Symphony earned review of “radiant tone easily filled the cavernous Terrace Theater, and she played with consummate grace and musicality. She put on an awesome technical display in the Finale, and played with assurance as Lebrun took the instrument way up high and way down low. And in the second movement, a lovely little song that is just cute as a bug’s ear, she was downright charming."
A versatile chamber/recital artist, Dr. Liu has been invited to perform at Sundays’ Live, Grand Performance, Ojai Summer Music Festival, Bruman Chamber Music Summer Festival, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, Southwest Music Festival/International New Music Festival, and Classics at The Merc; and as faculty/performance artist at Cactus Pear Music Festival, Chamber Music Unbound, Fresno Opera and Orchestra Summer Academy, International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, and Northeastern Pennsylvania Chamber Music Society. San Antonio critics wrote her performance of Mozart Quartet in the Cactus Pear Music Festival with "sweetness shaped by a sense of crisp articulation" and Daugherty’s “Firecracker” with "razzle dazzle piece...the audience was thrilled".
As a Hollywood recording studio musician, Dr. Liu has collaborated with celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood, Josh Groban, Chris Botti, David Benoit, Ron Isley, Seth MacFarlane, Andrea Bocelli, Spinal Tap, The Who, and Weird Al. Her cinema credits include “Star War VIII”, “Lady Bird”, “Ferdinand”, “Agents of SHIELD”, to name a few.
Dr. Liu has won first place in the Taiwan National Oboe Competition, and the Harvard Musical Association, as well as performance awards from the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, Taiwanese College Music Competition, Boston Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, and Spotlight Awards from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.
Dr. Liu holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California (with an award from Phi Beta Kappa and a membership in Pi Kappa Lambda). She is the oboe professor at California State University Fullerton School of Music, La Sierra University and Riverside City College.