Elizabeth Yao is a lecturer in music in piano at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she coordinates its secondary piano program, directs the Young Pianists program and the Summer Piano Academy, and teaches piano pedagogy. She holds a Doctor of Music in piano, with double minors in music theory and music history/literature, from the Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with Distinguished Professor André Watts.
She has been featured as guest soloist with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and the Coeur d’Alene Symphony, and as a guest artist on Spokane Public Radio’s From the Studio. Other distinctions have included prizes and awards from the Southern Illinois Young Artists Organization Instrumental Competition, Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Collegiate Scholarship Competition, Lima Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Award Tour Competition. She has toured with the San Francisco Symphony Adventures in Music educational outreach program, performing for and teaching thousands of elementary school students throughout the San Francisco Unified School District.