Dr. Atao Liu is a New York–based bassoonist and teaching artist recognized for her dynamic orchestral, chamber, and operatic performances across a wide range of repertoire. Her work spans early music, symphonic, and contemporary settings, with appearances including the Bach Festival Orchestra of Bethlehem, American Symphony Orchestra, American Ballet Theatre, New Jersey Symphony, and the Syracuse Orchestra. Her operatic credits include collaborations with Berkshire Opera Festival, Heartbeat Opera, and The Little Opera Theatre of New York.

An active chamber musician, Dr. Liu is an artist-in-residence at the Caroga Lake Music Festival and regularly collaborates with North/South Consonance, Parlando Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Q, and the Manhattan Fagotistas Bassoon Ensemble. Recent engagements include the MostArts Festival Residency and serving as a Visiting Professional Faculty for Brooke Valley Bassoon Days in Canada.

Dr. Liu’s recordings include Robert Martin: 4 Wind Quartets Vol. 2 with North/South Consonance and Heartbeat Opera’s MANON! Original Cast Recording, available on major streaming platforms.

Internationally, she toured China and the United States with the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Orchestra of China and collaborated with the Beijing Symphony. She has also toured the Philippines and Taiwan with the Children’s Orchestra Society and served on the faculty of the First Bohol International Youth Orchestra Festival.

Dr. Liu is on the faculty of the Bloomingdale School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division. As an educator and reed maker, she brings more than a decade of teaching experience and crafts high-quality bassoon reeds for students and professionals.

She holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music (BM), The Juilliard School (MM), and Stony Brook University (DMA), where her principal teachers included Jun Zhu, Carolyn Beck, Kim Laskowski, and Frank Morelli.