About Renee Chiu
As a versatile musician, Renee Chiu is an accomplished concert organist, church organist, concert pianist, choir accompanist, jazz pianist, improviser, composer, and educator.
Renee is an active member of the Utah Valley and San Jose chapters of the American Guild of Organists (AGO). At the age of 19, she became a Colleague of the AGO, which certification is equivalent to that of a Bachelor’s Degree in Organ Performance. At the age of 22, she progressed further and became an Associate of the AGO, a certification equivalent to a Master’s Degree in Organ Performance. Renee currently serves as the principal organist at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Provo. Renee also accompanies approximately 10,000 students during BYU campus-wide devotionals every quarter. Her organ recordings will be published through the Magnum Opus label during the latter half of 2023.
As a collaborative pianist, Renee works primarily with SATB community choirs in Utah Valley. She has served as the rehearsal accompanist for Ensign Singers, Canticum Lucis, and the Nebo Holiday Choir. She currently serves as the understudy rehearsal pianist for the Wasatch Chorale and the evening section of the Brigham Young University Chorale.
Renee manages a private piano studio of 20 students in the Provo/Orem area. Renee not only emphasizes technical, note-reading, performance, and competition skills, but she also provides musical service opportunities for her students. Additionally, her students choose to learn about a non-classical musical field, such as music for worship services, jazz improvisation, songwriting, arranging, composing, music and business, music notation software, or music history.
Renee served as a volunteer representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Taipei, Taiwan from 2019-2020. Upon returning to the United States, she taught Mandarin Chinese at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Renee’s experiences in Taiwan, her Taiwanese-Hispanic heritage, and her upbringing in the San Francisco Bay Area have fueled her desire to connect cultures through music.
Most recently, Renee has focused on connecting English- and Chinese-speaking cultures through her music compositions and through local and international service projects. During the summer of 2023, Renee will be directing music camps at Utah Valley Refugees 501(c)3 and at a childcare facility in Hualien, Taiwan. An interview about her projects will be used in English-learning materials published by the State Department of the United States.
Renee Chiu graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor's Degree of Organ Performance from Brigham Young University in April 2023. Her teachers include Dr. Don Cook, Dr. Neil Harmon, and Harold Stuart. She will begin coursework for her Master’s Degree of Organ Performance in the fall of 2023. She intends to eventually earn a Doctoral Degree of Music Teaching and Learning.