APRIL MAINSTAGE

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, the ‘Eroica’—a work revolutionary in scale, scope, and substance. For the eminent musicologist Paul Henry Lang, “The ‘Eroica’ is the greatest single step made by an individual composer in the history of the symphony and the history of music in general.” 

Guest conductor Andrew Grams brings this titanic work to the stage, plus 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition medalist Kate Liu makes her Ann Arbor debut with the soaring lyricism of Chopin’s F minor Piano Concerto. The product of the composer’s impassioned pursuit of the Polish soprano Konstancja Gładkowska, the concerto’s inexpressibly gorgeous second movement is conceived as a “piano aria,” framed by the virtuosic outer movements that characterize the composer’s peerless command of his instrument.

Saturday, April 5, 2025 | 8 PM | Michigan Theater (603 E Liberty St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104)
Pre-concert talk at 7 PM (sponsored by Exchange Capital Management

Kate Liu, piano
Andrew Grams, guest conductor

Louise Farrenc Overture No. 2
Fryderyk Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 3

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Kate Liu, piano 

BIOGRAPHY

Pianist Kate Liu gained international acclaim after winning the Bronze Medal and Best Mazurka Prize at the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Poland. She was also awarded the audience favorite prize voted by the Polish public on the Polish National Radio.

As a soloist, Kate has performed in many important venues, such as the Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Severance Hall in Cleveland, La Maison Symphonique de Montréal, Warsaw National Philharmonic, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Shanghai Concert Hall, Osaka Symphony Hall, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Hall, Phillip’s Collection, and others. She has collaborated with orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Polish Radio Orchestra, Poznan Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Daegu Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, and Evanston Symphony Orchestra. Her debut album of works by Chopin was released on the Fryderyk Chopin Institute label in 2016.

Born in Singapore, Kate began playing the piano when she was four years old and moved to the United States when she was eight. Her private studies then were at the Music Institute of Chicago with Emilio del Rosario, Micah Yui and Alan Chow. Early on in her career, she won 1st Prizes at the Third Asia-Pacific International Chopin Competition and the New York International Piano Competition. She received a Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music studying with Robert McDonald, as well as a Master’s and Artist Diploma degree from The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Robert McDonald and Yoheved Kaplinsky.

Andrew Grams, Guest Conductor

BIOGRAPHY

With a unique combination of intensity, enthusiasm and technical clarity, American conductor Andrew Grams has steadily built a reputation for his dynamic concerts, ability to connect with audiences, and long-term orchestra building.  He’s the winner of 2015 Conductor of the Year from the Illinois Council of Orchestras and has led orchestras throughout the United States including the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, and the Houston Symphony.

Andrew Grams became music director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra after an international search in 2013 and recently concluded his tenure there after 8 seasons. His charismatic conducting and easy accessibility have made him a favorite of Elgin Symphony audiences. A frequent traveler, Mr. Grams has worked extensively with orchestras abroad, including the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, the Orchestre National de France, Hong Kong Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra London, the symphony orchestras of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and Het Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, Netherlands.  He has led multiple performances of New York City Ballet’s George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® and the first performances of the new production of The Nutcracker for the Norwegian National Ballet in Olso. Also an educator, Mr. Grams has worked with orchestras at institutions such as the Curtis Institute of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University, Roosevelt University, the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland, and the Amsterdam Conservatorium. Born in Severn, Maryland, Mr. Grams began studying the violin when he was eight years old. In 1999 he received a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from The Juilliard School, and in 2003 he received a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller. He was selected to spend the summer of 2003 studying with David Zinman, Murry Sidlin and Michael Stern at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen and returned to that program again in 2004.  Mr. Grams served as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra from 2004-2007 where he worked under the guidance of Franz Welser-Möst, and has since returned for several engagements. As an accomplished violinist, Mr. Grams was a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra from 1998-2004, serving as acting associate principal second violin in 2002 and 2004. Additionally, he has performed with ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the New Jersey Symphony.
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