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The Chinese pianist, Xiaopei Xu (pronounced Shapay Shu; Chinese: 徐小培), was born to a musical family. Her father, Shuguang Xu, is a piano teacher and the family lived at a music school when she was born. At 3, she began playing. By 4, her parents were taking things a little more seriously. They knew she had something special. At 13, she left her home in Rizhao City in Shandong Province to go to the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she was honored with the Distinguished Student Award numerous times. That was where she met Xun Pan, who visits the school every year. In 2005, she won the Chinese National Kawai Cup Piano Competition; and in 2006, the Young Artist Competition in Russia. She left her parents and home in China in November of 2007 to come to the USA to study with Xun Pan at the Pennsylvania Academy of Music. In summer 2008, she won the prestigious New York Piano Competition and the International Young Artists Piano Competition in Washington, D.C.
Xiaopei Xu obtained her and Bachelor of Music degree from New England Conservatory of Music in Boston (2010-2014); and her Master of Music degree from Yale University School of Music in New Haven, Connecticut (2014-2016). Her principle teachers are Boaz Sharon, Hung-Kuan Chen, Meng-Chieh Liu, and Xun Pan. She has also worked with influential musicians such as Claude Frank, Richard Goode, Paul Badura-Skoda, and Andrea Bonatta. She has won top prizes at the 4th New York International Piano Competition, Oberlin International Piano Competition, Tureck International Bach Competition, the Washington D.C International Young Artist Competition, the Richmond Piano competition and the Soloist Competition at Boston University. She currently resides in Boston and is pursuing a Doctorate in Musical Arts from Boston University.
At her 2018 Boston Symphony Hall debut, Xiaopei Xu won over the audience with a dazzling performance of the Frédéric Chopin E minor Piano Concerto with Maestro Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Legendary pianist Martha Argerich describes her as “a sensitive, elegant pianist and a talented artist.” Conductor Bramwell Tovey regards her as “one of the most inspiring young artists” after their first collaboration. Already establishing herself worldwide as a deeply expressive artist, she Ms. Xu always uses her technical prowess to achieve poetic results in her interpretations."
Xiaopei Xu quickly establishes her career as a concert pianist. She performs regularly at festivals including Pianofest in the Hamptons, PianoTexas in Fort Worth, Banff Music Centre in Alberta, Sarasota Music Festival in Florida, Young Artist Festival in Russia, and Walnut Hill Music Festival in Boston, where she was invited to serve as a teaching assistant in 2015 and 2016.
Xiaopei Xu has also seved as Teaching assistant at Yale University (since September 2014); and Teaching assistant at Boston University School of Music (since September 2016).
In addition to her musical life, Xiaopei Xu has a passion for the visual arts. Some of her drawings have been published by the Clara Haskil Competition’s Jeune Critique. |
