Professor Shou Ping Liu has the Connecticut College Orchestra going places

Assistant Professor of Music Shou Ping Liu arrived at Connecticut College a little over a year ago, bringing a wealth of experience as a performer, conductor and teacher of music. Originally from Taiwan, Liu earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the New England Conservatory, followed by a musical art doctorate from the University of Southern California in 2020 and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin in Germany in 2022.

Liu began her academic career at Union College, where she served as the director of performance and conducted the Union College Choir and Orchestra, including at a concert at Carnegie Hall in 2022.

After joining Conn’s Music Department in 2023, Liu has worked quickly to reshape the Connecticut College Orchestra and build a commanding presence for orchestra music in the greater New London community. She recently sat down with Conn writer Tim Stevens ’03 to talk about the exciting developments.

Tim Stevens: What attracted you to Connecticut College?

Shou Ping Liu: In the interview, I was very attracted to feeling, for the first time, like I didn’t need to explain to people why what I did mattered. I never had to explain, “Why music?” That was a big draw.

TS: As the new director of the Connecticut College Orchestra, what was your first order of business?  

SPL: After COVID, the orchestra faced some challenges, including having different directors each year for a few years. And at a lot of liberal arts colleges, there are often not enough students for a full orchestra and they have to draw in community members. But I wanted to make the orchestra a real student experience, so we made it an all-string orchestra and my first semester we had 15 students.

I worked really hard with them, then, on pretty much just one piece. I told them we need to play real, serious music and really get it down. And it was during the concert that the students really felt it. A lot of people showed up and that was such a boost for the students, to see that celebration of their work.

We grew in the spring semester and continued to improve. We had someone from the Hartford Symphony Orchestra who sat in with us early and then came back in March and gave us wonderful feedback.

TS: And while you have been moving Conn’s orchestra forward, you’ve also created a new orchestra in the city of New London, right?

SPL: When I interviewed at Conn, I promised that if I got the job, I would move to New London. Because being in the community, becoming part of it, that’s the only way you’re going to build anything.

So last year I’m living here and working at Conn and we’re discussing ways to build partnerships with other colleges and organizations in the community, and I get the idea to form the group that is now the New England Chamber Orchestra (NECO), just incorporating all these great musicians I know are around me here in New London. For example, I reached out to musicians in the United States Coast Guard Band who are also trained for orchestra music to invited them to come play the music they trained to do. I called every person, one by one, and said, “I would love to work with you.” And they all said, “Yes, yes, yes.”

TS: That must have felt wonderful to be greeted with such enthusiasm.

SPL: It really was. And I’m so grateful for Conn for the inspiration to try and the support since.

When NECO comes together for rehearsals, it’s clear everyone is so ready. And then our first concert is artistic level. Absolutely stunning. So because of that, I go ahead and hire a Grammy-winning producer to help us make a CD. We want to build this step-by-step, and releasing a professional recording is part of that. I can feel it building real momentum.

Our second concert is Sunday, Sept. 22. Tickets are available at www.theneco.org.

TS: Have you found ways for NECO and the College orchestra to interact?

SPL: Absolutely. For example, NECO plays one work with Conn in every concert. So the students get to play alongside the professional musicians, and it is this boost of “I can do this” for them.

TS: What’s on the horizon for the Connecticut College Orchestra?

SPL: The biggest news is we’ve been invited to Japan! We’ll be taking the students to Tokyo in March 2025 and we will be combining with a professional group called Tokyo Symphonia. They have a very strong subscription program and they’ll actually be incorporating our visit into that program. That’s something you have to work really hard to achieve, to be included in a business subscription concert in another country.

The students will be representing Conn—and America. So we are really going to make sure we are on our game.