A junior at Avon High School, Liya has been playing cello for thirteen years and piano for eleven through the Suzuki Program at the Hartt School Community Division (HCD). Her cello journey began with Carmen Irons and has continued with Blake Brasch. She has been studying piano under the tutelage of Malgosia Lis. Liya’s orchestral experience started in the Suzuki String Orchestras and has continued in the Connecticut Youth Symphony (CYS) where she has been serving as Principal Cellist since 2023. As an active participant in HCD’s chamber music program for seven years, she is currently a cellist in a string quintet coached by Teri Einfeldt and a pianist in a piano-four-hands duet coached by her piano teacher.
Besides CYS, Liya was appointed Principal Cellist of the Connecticut Northern Region High School Orchestra and participated in the CT All-State Orchestra. She has been named 1st-place winner of the American Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition, CYS Concerto Competition, Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, CT Bach Festival and CT-MTNA as a cellist. She has also received the 1st-prize Musical Club of Hartford Strings and the John Jorgensen Scholarships. As a pianist, she is a four-time 1st-place winner in the HMTA Virtuoso Piano Competition and recipient of the 1st-place Musical Club of Hartford Piano Scholarship. She has also played principal piano in her school’s production of Beauty and the Beast musical.
Throughout her musical journey, Liya has been fortunate to attend various programs such as Suzuki Institutes and the International Cello Institute. These experiences have allowed her to meet and learn from peers as well as inspiring artists and instructors including Blaise Déjardin, Nancy Hair, Hannah Roberts, and Yumi Kendall. She has also had the opportunity to share music in our broader community through the Back to Bach program, HCD’s Youth to Community program, and her school’s Music Service Society — organizing and performing in live and virtual outreach concerts, coaching younger “practice buddies”, and planning music education events for young children and their parents in public libraries.