Ethan Liu

Ethan Liu, 18, is currently a senior at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, by parents who are professionals in the traditional Chinese arts, Ethan grew up surrounded by Guzheng melodies and traditional ink brush paintings. He began learning classical piano at age three, violin at seven, and saxophone in middle school, in order to join the concert band. Upon arriving at Phillips Academy, Ethan discovered an intense love for jazz. With classical training as a strong technical foundation, he immersed himself in the practice of jazz vocabulary at Andover. 

Outside of playing lead alto saxophone in the Phillips Academy (PA) Jazz Band, viola in the PA Chamber Orchestra, and snare drum in the PA Drumline, Ethan leads an on-campus cover band named Goose and Moose, performing 90+ originals/covers for 2000+ Andover students, faculty, and parents throughout the school year. With the PA Jazz Band, Concert Band, and Orchestra, Ethan has also had the chance to perform abroad in Portugal and England. 

Since 10th grade, Ethan has spent his Saturdays at New England Conservatory (NEC) Prep in Boston, performing on piano and/or saxophone in various jazz combos, as well as lead alto saxophone in the NEC Prep Youth Jazz Orchestra (YJO). Other honors include playing with the 2025 and 2026 MMEA High School All-State Jazz Bands and being recognized as a 2026 National YoungArts Award Winner in Jazz/Piano. Most recently, Ethan is a recipient of the 2026 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award and a From the Top Fellow. This honor supports Ethan in purchasing a new alto saxophone and premiering his composition with host/pianist Peter Dugan on NPR radio. 

As a composer, Ethan’s big band original “Goose and Moose” was premiered in 2023 by the Phillips Academy Jazz Band and by the NEC Prep Youth Jazz Orchestra in 2024. Additional original tunes by Ethan, representing themes of Florida nature, have since been premiered by the Phillips Academy and NEC Prep jazz combos throughout the past two years.