The Kansas Music Teachers Association (KMTA) has named Dr. Christina Liu of Bethel College as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year for 2025.
The award was announced at the KMTA annual conference, held Sept. 26-27 at Tabor College, Hillsboro.
Liu had a busy weekend – in addition to receiving the award and, following a term as KMTA president-elect, assuming the position of KMTA president, she presented “From Practice to Performance: Using Rubrics to Shape Success” during the conference.
“This prestigious award highlights Christina’s exceptional teaching and other work with students in music at the local, state and national levels, [and] acknowledges her significant contributions to the music profession,” said Dr. Robert Milliman, Bethel vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, announcing the award to campus.
“We are proud to celebrate Christina’s important achievements in the field of music, and are grateful [she] is a vital part of the Bethel College faculty, where we are able to witness her continual commitment to excellence.”
Liu is associate professor of piano and music history and chair of the Department of Music at Bethel College. She began teaching at Bethel in 2019.
She has a bachelor’s degree in music, piano performance with pedagogy emphasis, from Washington State University; two masters of music (M.M.) degrees, one in solo piano performance and one in piano chamber music performance, from the University of Michigan; and a D.M.A., piano performance with pedagogy emphasis, from the University of Kansas.
Other professional accomplishments include Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) and membership in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA).
She has broad experience in teaching piano – in private lessons, as community music school faculty, and as an instructor at KU (graduate assistant) and the University of St. Mary, Leavenworth.
Liu is a familiar figure at the piano bench at Bethel, accompanying for both student and faculty recitals, choral and instrumental concerts, and music theater.
Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Bethel is ranked #25 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Regional College Midwest for 2026. Bethel was the only Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Community Healing and Transformation (TCHT) Campus Center, in 2021. For more information, see www.bethelks.edu
