The Yale Club of Washington, D.C. is pleased to present our final Yale Alumni Virtual Performing Artist Series, Inbal Megiddo (cello) ‘98, MM ’01, AD ’02 and Jian Liu (piano) YSM '12 and DMA ’12!

Please join us for a unique evening showcasing the concert music and film scores of the Golden Age of Cinema, composed by leading Jewish European composers who fled the Holocaust and settled in Hollywood. Composers such as Erich Korngold, Ernst Toch, and Franz Waxman, provide a glimpse into the immigrant’s journey to and experience in America. From resilience to reinvention in Hollywood, these composers wrote music for some of the greatest blockbuster movies and transformed America’s musical landscape.

The concert will be a multimedia experience, with live performance of concert music, preceded by clips of the films that showcase the scores. Passionate about elevating the genre of suppressed composers, Ms. Inbal’s search for the music of composers who were persecuted and silenced, and through performances, seeks to give them voice and recognition.

About the Performers

Cellist Inbal Megiddo has performed as soloist with many of the great orchestras and in major concert halls around the world, including recitals in the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, with the Berlin Symphony at the Philharmonie and a recital at the Staatsoper. At her New York debut at the Lincoln Center her playing was hailed by the press as having “magical expression and technical expertise.” Recent releases include a recording of the complete Bach Cello Suites and Debussy's Sonatas and Trio, which were nominated for Best Classical Album in the NZ Music Awards. She gave the NZ premieres of the Weinberg, Villa Lobos, and Barber Cello Concertos, with her playing described as “Superb!...Virtuosic, brilliant and powerful”. Other recent highlights include performances with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Ukraine Philharmonic, Lithuanian Philharmonic, collaborations with preeminent conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Shlomo Mintz, and Lior Shambadal, and concert tours throughout Europe, North America, and Asia.

Ms. Megiddo is Associate Professor in Cello at the New Zealand School of Music, and has held faculty positions at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Yale University. She has been guest artist at festivals such as the International Cello Congress, Beijing International Chamber Music Festival and Melbourne Cello Festival. She has given masterclasses at institutions around the world, including many of the major music schools in North America, Europe, Israel, and Australasia. Ms. Megiddo recently completed a doctoral thesis on the teaching methods of the legendary Aldo Parisot, and is founder and director of the Cellophonia International Festival in Wellington, New Zealand Music Awards. 

Pianist Dr. Jian Liu,born in China and educated in China and the USA, is an internationally celebrated concert pianist, chamber musician, and educator, and has performed and taught throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. His artistry has taken him to some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He has also recorded many CDs, one of which, Debussy Sonatas and Piano Trio, has been nominated as Best Classical Artist. 

His performances have been broadcast by various TV and radio stations including KPHO public radio (USA), CCTV (China), Suisse Romande Radio (Switzerland), Krakow Radio (Poland), Kan Radio (Israel) and Radio New Zealand. Dr. Liu is currently the Programme Director of Classical Performance and Head of Piano Studies at New Zealand School of Music. Dr. Liu holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale School of Music, where he was a student and assistant of Professor Claude Frank.

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