2025 Conference Information
The call for proposals for the 2025 KMTA State Conference is up! Submissions due by May 15, 2025. In addition the full-length and lightning sessions, we will also be accepting mini-sessions (rotating 20-minute sessions offered in three different rooms).
2025 Conference Arist – Solungga Liu
Solungga Liu has earned acclaim as a pianist of remarkable breadth, celebrated for her advocacy of early 20th-century American music, underrepresented works in the classical repertoire, and her dedication to performing and promoting contemporary compositions. Her artistry has been described as nuanced, expressive, and deeply insightful.
Liu’s 2017 debut at the Library of Congress showcased her strengths, featuring works by Charles Griffes, Amy Beach, and César Franck. The Washington Classical Review praised her “rhythmic precision, expression, and finely calibrated sense of balance between all of the moving parts.” This recital included a world premiere of Griffes’s 1915 piano transcription of Debussy’s Les parfums de la nuit from Iberia, rediscovered by the Library of Congress. The Washington Classical Review lauded her performance, stating that Liu brought an “orchestral spectrum of colors” to the transcription.
Her recordings have received widespread acclaim. The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan: Piano Works of Charles Tomlinson Griffes (Centaur Records) was praised by the American Record Guide for its “excellent sound, sensitivity, and beguiling color.” Her newest album, The Passionate Amy Beach: Piano Quintet and Selected Works for Solo Piano (Centaur, 2023), was lauded by Piano Magazine as “full of depth, color, and nuance,” and Fanfare Magazine described it as “a genuine and beautiful performance.”
A passionate advocate for new music, Liu has premiered and recorded numerous contemporary works. Highlights of her collaborations include performing Lutosławski’s Piano Concerto with OSSIA, Steve Reich’s The Desert Music and Tehillim with Alarm Will Sound, Aaron Travers’s Concierto de Milonga with the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, and Gregory Mertl’s Piano Concerto, commissioned for her by the Barlow Endowment. The 2017 Bridge Records release of Mertl’s concerto garnered significant critical acclaim.
Liu’s career spans five continents, performing as a soloist and chamber musician with orchestras such as the National Theater Symphony Orchestra of Brazil, the Taipei Metropolitan Orchestra, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra/Choral Society, and the National Institute of Health’s Philharmonia in Washington, D.C. She has appeared at iconic venues like Carnegie Hall, The National Concert Hall in Taiwan, and the Goethe Center in Bangkok. In Brazil, she presented a series of solo recitals at the Brazilian National Museum of Sculpture (MUBE) and the Cultural Center of Brasília (CCBB), performing for both public audiences and members of Brazil’s Cabinet and Supreme Labor Court.
In addition to her international performance career, Liu is a dedicated educator at Bowling Green State University and a sought-after Artist-Teacher at international festivals and competitions. These include the 2024 Sicily International Piano Festival and Competition, the 2023 Lied Center for Performing Arts Summer Piano Academy, the Eastman School of Music Summer Piano Festival, the Atlantic Music Festival, the Thailand International Mozart Competition, and the Piano Plus International Piano Festival in Greece.
Liu holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Alan Feinberg, Douglas Humpherys, and Elizabeth DiFelice.
Past State Conferences
Looking for info about a past conference?
This list has the current president, location, conference artist, and commissioned composer of each KMTA conference along with a link to more information, if available.
- 2024 Natasha Pence, Western Kentucky University, Eva Polgar
- 2023 Natasha Pence, University of Louisville, Alexandre Dossin, Richard Crosby
- 2022 Nina Belle Durr, Campbellsville University, Daniel Weeks/Donna Loewy, Larry Barnes
- 2021 Nina Belle Durr, Northern Kentucky University (joint with OhioMTA), Aaron Diehl, Thomas Couvillon
- 2020 Zachary Lopes, Online, Ann Schein, Dr. Matthew Herman
- 2019 Zachary Lopes, Central Lexington Public Library, Carr-Petrova Duo, Gyuli Kambarova
- 2018 Bernardo Scarambone, Galt House/KMAC, Sylvia Thereza, Dr. Steve Rouse
- 2017 Bernardo Scarambone, Transylvania U, Dr. Gregory Partain, Dr. Timothy Polashek
- 2016 Diana Aubrey, Courtyard by Marriott Hotel/UofL/Bellarmine, Harry Pickens, Richard Crosby
- 2015 Diana Aubrey, WKU, Latitude 49, Steven Weimer
- 2014 William Budai, Campbellsville, Stephen Beus, Larry Barnes
- 2013 William Budai, MuSU, Frederic Chui, Kurt Sander
- 2012 David Oyen, MoSu, Eunbyol Ko, Joseph Baber
- 2011 David Oyen, EKU, Bernardo Scarambone, Thomas Couvillon
- 2010 Krista Wallace-Boaz, U of L, Haochen Zhang, Richard Crosby
- 2009 Krista Wallace-Boaz, NKU, Cincinnati Opera, Greg Danner
- 2008 Vicki McVay, Campbellsville, Charles Rosen, Richard Burchard
- 2007 Vicki McVay, Centre College, Orion Weiss and Bavarian Philharmonic, Teresa Tedder
- 2006 Richard Scott, Transylvania U., showcase Recital, Joseph Barber
- 2005 Richard Scott, MoSU, Phillip Kevern, Gregory Partian
- 2004 Carol Dennes, MuSU, P. Karp and Eli Kalman, K. Holm-Hudson
- 2003 Carol Dennes, UK, Irina Voro, Richard Crosby
- 2002 Donald Speer, UofL, Stanislav Loudenitch, Michael Kallstom
- 2001 Donald Speer, EKU, Hayward Mickens, Sonny Burnette
- 2000 Diana Aubrey, NKU, Sergei Polusmiak, Charles W. Smith
- 1999 Diana Aubrey, Campbellsville, Cate Arroe, Larry Bitensky
- 1998 Denine LeBlanc, MuSU, Enid Katahn, Marc Satterwhite
- 1997 Denine LeBlanc, BG/Warren Co. Cntr., S. Kersenbaum, J. Curnow
- 1996 Janet Bass Smith, MoSU, Weekley and Arganbright, A.C. Moore
- 1995 Janet Bass Smith, UK, Alan Hersh, James Moore
- 1994 Stephen Brown, Ashland Plaza, Lee Luvisi, Frederick Speck
- 1993 Stephen Brown, U of L, McHugh-Oliphant Duo, Steve Rouse
- 1992 David Doran, WKU, S. Kersenbaum and E. Kersenbaum, J. Steffa
- 1991 David Doran, EKU, Richard Crosby, Christopher White
- 1990 Patricia Montgomery, MuSU, R. Slenczynska, M.N. McClellan
- 1989 Patricia Montgomery, U of L, Brenda Kee, Michael Kallstrom
- 1988 Wesley Roberts, UK, Nelita True, Larry Barnes
- 1987 Wesley Roberts, SBTS, Anthony Thurman, David Doran
- 1986 Ronald Boud, MoSU, Ann Schein, Nelson Keyes
- 1985 Ronald Boud, Campbellsville, G. Lucktenberg, Paul Brink
- 1984 Ronald Boud, EKU, Roe Van Boskirk, Kenneth Timm
- 1983 Larry Schenck, UK, UK Orchestra with P. Montegomery, J. Flippin
- 1982 Jean Huffman, Centre College, L. Keenan, M. Hinson, J. Chrisman, J. Carden
- 1981 Jean Huffman, U of L, David Kaiserman, Richard Bromley
- 1980 Marie Hargett, MuSU, A. and J. Paratore, Christopher Gallaher
- 1979 Marie Hargett, MoSU, Larry Keenan, Theodore Diakonoff
- 1978 Dorothy Hartsell, WKU, S. Kersenbaum, Claude Baker
- 1977 Dorothy Hartsell, U of L, Lee Luvisi, Jerome Seig
- 1976 Edgar Minor, UK, No record, Bennie Beach
- 1975 Edgar Minor, UK, Enid Katahn, Dan Welcher
- 1974 Larry Keenan, Louisville BG Cntr., No record, R. Hensel
- 1973 Larry Keenan, EKU, No record, Nelson Keyes
- 1972 Dorothy Spalding, SBTS, L. and I. Freundlich, Joseph Barber
- 1971 Dorothy Spalding, Berea, Dorothy and Carl Lewis, V. Severy
- 1970 John Winter, MuSU, No record, Paul Shahan
- 1969 John Winter. UK, Stockholm University Chorus, J. Woodward
- 1968 Glenn Fulbright, MoSU, Lenox Quartet, Frederick Mueller
- 1967 Glenn Fulbright, U of L, Lee Luvisi, Phillip Landgrave
- 1966 Glenn Fulbright, EKU, Grant Johannesen, NA
- 1965 Glenn Fulbright, WKU, Ruth Slenczynska, Phillip Landgrave
- 1964 Maurice Hinson, SBTS, SBTS Oratorio Chorus, NA
- 1963 Maurice Hinson, UK, Jung Ja Kim, NA
- 1962 John Chrisman, MoSU, William Newman, NA
- 1961 John Chrisman, Berea, Janos Starker and Leon Pommers, NA
- 1960 John Chrisman, MuSU, Louisville String Quartet, NA
- 1959 John Chrisman, KY Hotel, Louisville, LO and KOA, NA
- 1958 Jane Campbell, EKU, The Medley’s, NA
- 1957 Jane Campbell, UK, No record, NA
- 1956 Jane Campbell, U of L, Frances and Howard Karp, NA
- 1955 Jane Campbell, Berea, Berea College Music Faculty, NA
- 1954 Helen Greim, U of L, No record, NA
- 1953 Helen Greim, UK, No record, NA
- 1952 Helen Greim, UK, No record, NA