BIOGRAPHY
Taiwanese pianist Wei-Chun Bernadette Lo is a sought-after collaborative pianist, chamber musician, and educator based in Knoxville. Since 2011, she has served as Visiting Professor of Music at The University of the South and is also a collaborative pianist at University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Dr. Lo is recognized for her extensive work in both vocal and instrumental repertoire. In the operatic field, she has worked with the studios of renowned singers including Martina Arroyo, Cynthia Haymon, and Carol Vaness, and has collaborated with academic opera programs such as Illinois Opera Theater and the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre. She has also worked with professional companies including Knoxville Opera, Marble City Opera, El Paso Opera, Opera Illinois, and Sugar Creek Opera.
From 2008 to 2019, Dr. Lo served as an official collaborative artist for the Orpheus National Vocal Competition in Murfreesboro. Since 2013, she has also been a repetitor for the American Institute of Musical Studies, performing for lessons and masterclasses led by internationally renowned artists including Edda Moser and Linda Watson.
Equally active in instrumental collaboration, Dr. Lo has served as collaborative pianist for festivals including the Tennessee Cello Workshop, UT Viola Celebration, and Western Kentucky University Violin Fest. She has performed in masterclasses and competitions presented by Mauricio Fuks and Heidi Castleman, and has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Victoria Chiang, Melissa Kraut, and Ivo-Jan van der Werff.
Her recital appearances include performances with acclaimed instrumentalists including David Griffin of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ronald Barron of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Josef Burgstaller of Canadian Brass, and Paul Merkelo of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. She has also served as conference pianist for the International Horn Symposium, the Southeast Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference, and the International Tuba Euphonium Conference, and the International Viola Congress in Thailand.
Dr. Lo performs regularly with violist Hillary Herndon. Together, they recorded the critically acclaimed album La Viola: Music for Viola and Piano by Women Composers of the 20th Century. She is the recipient of both the Sewanee Faculty Development Grant and the Tennessee Arts Commission “Arts Build Community” grant, which supported the commission of new chamber works for viola, clarinet, and piano, including a trio by Libby Larsen that later premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2015. Her most recent recording with Herndon, 1919: Viola Sonatas, celebrates a pivotal moment in viola history through performances of rarely heard sonatas from the early twentieth century.
Beyond her academic and chamber music work, Dr. Lo has appeared with organizations including the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Oak Ridge Philharmonia, and the Knoxville Chamber Music Society. Her performances have included major works such as Carmina Burana and The Carnival of the Animals, as well as the North American premiere of Hania Rani’s piano concerto Non-Fiction at the Big Ears Festival. She has also appeared as soloist in works by Osvaldo Lacerda and Edvard Grieg with the Oak Ridge Philharmonia and Sewanee Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Lo holds degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Peabody Institute. Her principal teachers include Ellen Mack, Gustavo Romero, and Timothy Ehlen. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of the South, she served as staff pianist at Western Illinois University and taught piano, class piano, and ear training at Roane State Community College and Walters State Community College in Tennessee.