biography.
Hi Everyone! My name is Xiao and I’m a Composer currently doing my MM at the Mannes School of Music in New York City. I study under Prof. Kamala Sankaram and I did my BM at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. I was born in Chongqing, China and started learning the piano at the age of 3. I went to study in Britain at 12, which is when I wrote my first ever piano solo. After finishing my secondary education at The Manchester Grammar School, I came to Montreal to study mechanical engineering at McGill, graduating in 2017. I then worked for 2 years in the aerospace industry before finally returning to McGill to pursue my dream of becoming a Composer.
I am mostly self-taught, and I feel very lucky and blessed to be doing what I naturally love everyday. Since 2019, I’ve been exploring various genres and instrumentations including numerous solo, duet, chamber, choral and orchestral pieces. On December 3rd 2021, I had the honour to premiere my choral composition “Flowers from Heaven” on stage, conducting the McGill Jazz Choir myself. My greatest inspirations are two Japanese Composers – Joe Hisaishi and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Like them, I want to create beautiful music that deeply touches people’s hearts. Being very sensitive to emotional melodies, I am actively exploring the world of Film Scoring, and I look forward to collaborating with Directors who like my music in the near future. |