December 4, 2016  Holiday Concert

“HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS”

Featuring
Community Chorus
Wennie Niu Nai-Yueh, soprano
Catherine Jiang, 11-year-old singer

Program
Excerpts from Handel’s Messiah
“A Christmas Hope” by Matthew Liu
Dvorak New World Symphony
Holiday Audience Sing-Along

Return to 2016-17 Season 

Soprano soloist Wennie Nai-Yueh Niu of West Windsor. Ms. Niu is a graduate in music from the National Taiwan Normal University. She received a Master's Degree and a Professional Vocal Performance Certificate from Northwestern University. She has worked with numerous famous voice masters, including Janet Bookspan and Joan Dornamann, coaches for The Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Ms. Niu has performed widely in Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, San Jose, New Jersey, New York, and Taiwan. She has appeared in major roles in operas including: “The King and I”, "Cosi Fan Tutte”, ”Don Giovanni”, ”Amal and the Night Visitors”, “Rigoletto”, “La Boheme”, ”Hansel and Gretel”, and “The Pirates of Penzance”. Ms. Niu has received much acclaim for her many solo recitals. Niu also has passion for the chorale music. She currently devotes her effort to the promotion of musicianship in community service and to the younger generation.

11-year-old singer Catherine Jiang is a6th grader in Community Middle school in Plainsboro, New Jersey. A student of Gu Ming-Zheng, Catherine has been taking formal lessons in voice since she was eight years old. She has won numerous awards from the International Modelling and Talent Association, including the Actor of the Year and multi-talent categories. Catherine has also won grand prizes in the ICE-Production Network TV Talent Festival competitions. Catherine is represented by “Innovative Artist” management in acting, and she is a leading actress in the movie "A Different Sun”.

20-year-old Matthew Liu studies with Dr. Robert Beaserat the Juilliard School of Music, where he also serves as a teaching fellow. He began formal composition studies in 2010 at the age of fourteen, where he studied with Dr. Paul Undreiner, Dr. Darren Gage, and Dr. John Girvin. At the age of fourteen, his symphonic work "In Memoriam” was premiered at Lincoln Center's Avery Fischer Hall to critical acclaim. Matthew Liu's works have also been performed at Carnegie Hall's Issac Stern Auditorium, Count Basie Theater in New Jersey, and concert halls in Taiwan. Matthew Liu has won numerous composition awards, including the New Jersey Arts Collective Pictures Composition Competition and grand prize of the NJ Music Educators Association Young Composers Competition, and was selected nationally for the NAfME Young Composers Concert. Matthew is a winner of the National Young Arts Foundation, being recognized for excellence inclassical composition in 2014 and 2015. Matthew Liu is active in the New York City musical theater scene, serving as music director, music assistant, and engraver for Broadway composers Michael Mott and Melissa Li, and also “Broadway Dreams.”