Biography

Mingjia Liu is currently serving as Acting Principal Oboe of the SFS, occupying the Edo de Waart chair. He joined the San Francisco Opera as Principal Oboe in 2010 and was previously principal oboe of the Kansas City Symphony. He is currently the youngest principal oboist of all the professional orchestras in the United States. A native of the northern coastal city Qingdao in China, he was enrolled at the age of twelve at the middle school of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He studied with Weidong Wei and graduated from the Central Conservatory with the highest distinction in 2006. He continued his studies in the United States at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where his teachers include Robert Walters and Alex Klein. Mr. Liu appeared as a fellowship musician at both the Colorado College Music Festival and at the Aspen Music Festival. In 2011, he made his debut as a soloist with the Qingdao Symphony. He was invited by the Central Conservatory of Music to give both recitals and master classes at the First Beijing International Oboe Festival. Mr. Liu has also taught at his alma mater, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He performs regularly with the chamber music group Ensemble San Francisco.

(March 2015)