Cellist Jan Vargas Nedvetsky and Pianist Liang-Yu Wang perform works by Dinuk Wijeratne and Dmitri Shostakovich, live from the Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago.
Described by the Chicago Classical Review as a “young virtuoso on the rise”, 18-year-old cellist Jan Vargas Nedvetsky is a 2025 YoungArts Winner with Distinction in Cello Performance and a 2025 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts nominee. Jan won top prizes in numerous solo and chamber competitions, and was recognized with a Richard D. Colburn Scholarship, a McDowell Artist Association Scholarship, and a Scholarship of the International Music Academy of Liechtenstein, among other merit awards.
In 2023 Jan made his debut as a soloist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall. In the 2024-2025 seasons Jan soloed with Northbrook, Oistrakh, Central Oregon, Lakeview, and West Suburban Symphony orchestras as a winner of concerto competitions, played recitals across the United States and in Europe, and was a featured soloist on WFMT Introductions, From The Top Radio Program, Violin Channel, and ABC 7 TV. Jan attended the Gstaad Menuhin Academy, Music Academy of Liechtenstein, Meadowmount School of Music, Chamber Music Seminar at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Musica Mundi festival in Brussels, Belgium.
Praised by The Herald Times as a pianist who “strokes and strikes the keyboard pristinely and with elegance”. Taiwanese pianist Liang-yu Wang has performed in major concert halls across four continents. The legendary violinist Ruggiero Ricci enthusiastically endorsed her as “A terrific pianist!”
Ms. Wang is currently based in Chicago and serves as the collaborative pianist at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music. An enthusiastic chamber musician, she has been featured as guest artist with notable music organizations including performances at the Morgan Library & Museum, Red Rocks Music Festival, the Banff Centre, Schlern International Music Festival, Chicago Musicians Club of Women, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, and Chamber Music on the Fox. Her playing has been broadcasted on WFMT, the Violin Channel, PBS, and Klara (Belgium). Ms. Wang was a recipient of the Collaborative Piano Fellowship from the Bard Conservatory of Music, working closely with the renowned soprano Dawn Upshaw. Ms. Wang has also served as Visiting Assistant Professor (Collaborative Piano/String) at the Indiana University-Bloomington and was on faculty at Western Illinois University School of Music. During summers, she is on staff at the prestige music program, Meadowmount School of Music.
