Photo courtesy of Live On Stage Inc.
The Mifflin-Juniata Concert Association and Live On Stage Inc. present Yang and Olivia, Thursday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Mifflin County High School.

LEWISTOWN — While nations rage around the globe, the violin and piano duo of Yang Liu and Olivia I-Hsun Tsai are a shining example of all’s fair in love and war.

The two hail from conflicting worlds but have come together to display love and honor for each other. The husband and wife musical duo strive to spread love and tolerance between different cultures through their stage performances.

Presented by the Mifflin-Juniata Concert Association and Live On Stage Inc., Yang and Olivia are a classically-trained dynamic violin piano duo who perform not only classical music but also world contemporary, folk and country music, turning your favorite tunes from every genre into violin-piano transcriptions.

They are scheduled to perform at Mifflin County High School, 501 Sixth St., Lewistown, at

7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 20.

Yang and Olivia were both born in 1975, although in completely different worlds. Olivia was born in Taiwan, a democracy and staunch ally of the United States.

Yang was born in mainland China. The Communist nation had only recently ended its disastrous cultural revolution, which attempted to purge its society of all Western influences, including classical music.

“When I was born, in some Chinese cities, Western music was still forbidden,” Yang said. “Some cities were more open. It depends. Some days you can play the violin for communist songs, and some days you cannot. It was a very sensitive thing.

“We lived right next to a metal cutting factory,” Yang added. “You can imagine how loud it gets. We lived right next to it. So, all day long, you hear the metal cutting, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. that’s all you hear is metal cutting. You would consider it a ghetto area. A very bad place.”

As a very young boy, in the midst of the noise and grime and misery, Yang was touched by the sound of the violin.

“We had a neighbor who secretly played violin,” Yang said. “She was 20 or so. She loved the violin, and she stuffed her windows and doors with thick blankets because she didn’t want anyone to hear it, so that it wouldn’t cause her serious trouble. It was almost half a block away, but somehow I could hear it as it went under the window, and I just fell in love with that sound. Yang asked his parents what that sound was, but they tried to shush him and told him not to talk about it. But he was persistent.

“So eventually they told me it’s called a violin, a Western instrument that’s a wooden box,” Yang said. “There was no music background in my family, so that’s all they knew. I cried my guts out for about three months and said I wanted a violin for one of my toys. They wouldn’t get me one because it was still considered something that could get you in trouble. It was my grandma who finally said, ‘For Christ’s sake, get this boy a violin.'”

And his parents finally relented. Yang said that for him playing the violin was a calling. He would eventually study at the Beijing Central Conservatory then made his way to the United States to study with renowned violin instructor Dorothy DeLay at the University of Cincinnati.

In contrast to Yang’s bleak and oppressive upbringing, Olivia grew up in Taiwan in a nurturing musical environment.

“The way I started in music had everything to do with my sister,” Olivia said. “She’s five years older than I am, and according to my parents, my sister showed an early extreme musical talent. When she was a toddler, she was given a toy piano and was able to duplicate and repeat the tunes she heard on the toy piano. So, she started music instruction, and when I came along and saw my sister performing on the stage, I told my mom I want to be like my sister.”

Olivia said that she began piano lessons at age six. She recalled participating in Taiwan’s experimental music program where, if students passed an audition, they could begin professional, conservatory-level training in elementary school and continuing up through high school.

“My sister and I kept passing auditions, and we got admitted into the special program,” Olivia said. “That’s how we started on this journey. “During our school years, we knew each other, but we didn’t like each other.”

Their relationship began after both had completed their studies and after they performed together at the Aspen Music Festival. Their love for each other grew, and they eventually married. They now have two children.

Additionally, the two founded the Yang and Olivia Foundation, which advocates for diversity, equality, and inclusion through music of different cultures.

Single tickets for this performance will be available at the door for $25. For more information, call (717) 994-4535 or visit www.mjconcerts.org.