Originally from China and now based in Washington, D.C., violinist Liya Ma has performed with a variety of ensembles across the world and has worked under the baton of many renowned conductors, including Riccardo Muti, Ken-David Masur, Rossen Milanov, Thomas Wilkins, Michael Stern, Ryan Haskins, Lidiya Yankovskaya, Taichi Fukumura, Arthur Arnold, Carlos Izcaray, Christopher Zimmerman, and Andrew Grams. She has collaborated with world class musicians and ensembles, including Yo-Yo Ma, Inon Barnatan, Olga Kern, Christopher Lamb, Johnny Gandelsman, Sarah Chang, Máté Szűcs, Kinan Azmeh, Michelle DeYoung, the Silk Road Ensemble, Dover Quartet, the International Contemporary Ensemble, and Rajaton. Ms. Ma currently holds the Principal Second Violin position with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra in Sioux City, Iowa. Previously, she served as a section violinist with the Southwest Michigan Orchestra, the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, and the American Youth Symphony. She has also been a regular member with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where she worked closely with musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Ma also plays regularly with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago, and Northbrook Symphony Orchestra. Her chamber music experience includes performing with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra String Quartet at the National Music Museum, the Silk Road Ensemble workshop with Yo-Yo Ma, Ensemble 20+ at DePaul University, and the University String Quartet at California State University, Long Beach.

Ms. Ma’s major music festival experiences include attending the Artosphere Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2024; Mendocino Music Festival as an Emerging Artist in 2023; and the Atlantic Music Festival as a Contemporary Ensemble Fellow in 2021. In 2019, she attended Youth Music Culture Guangdong in Guangzhou, China, where she collaborated and performed with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. She has also attended the PRISMA festival in Canada in 2018 and 2019.

As a music educator, Ms. Ma holds teaching artist positions with several music schools and regularly coaches at youth orchestra programs such as the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra Youth Orchestra and the DC Youth Orchestra Program. Her students have earned positions with programs such as the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras and The Capitol Symphonic Youth Orchestras while actively performing in local recitals and concerts.

Ms. Ma received her Post-Master’s Performance Certificate at DePaul University, where she studied with soloist Janet Sung. Prior to that degree, she received her Master’s Degree at California State University, Long Beach under Professor Moni Simeonov, and her Bachelor of Arts degree at China Conservatory of Music under Professor Hui Jin.