XIANG GAO Biography


Home Biography Orchestral Repertoire			XIANG GAO

	Xiang Gao, violinist Recognized as one of the world’s most successful performing artists of his generation from the People’s Republic of China, Xiang Gao (also known as X Gao) is cited by the New York Times as “a rare and soulful virtuoso.” He has performed for many world leaders, including former Presidents of the U.S. and China. On June 26th of 2007, Xiang Gao was a featured soloist to perform for the Chinese President Hu JinTao and the visiting King Carlos I of Spain. His musical integrity and virtuoso technique have gained accolades from audiences and reviewers around the world. World-renowned conductor Neeme Järvi’s comment on his musicianship was “I have conducted many of the world’s top young soloists including Joshua Bell and Lang Lang. Mr. Gao is an artist of this stature!” In 1994, Xiang became the first Chinese violinist to join the roster of Columbia Artists Management (Wilford/Tucker division) and began his professional solo career. Highlights of the recent season’s engagements include the North American premier of Eduard Tubin’s violin concerto No. 1 with the Detroit Symphony; the U.S. premier performance of Eino Tamberg’s violin concerto with the Absolute Ensemble in Merkin Hall, New York City; solo performances with the Czech Philharmonic, the Gothenburg Symphony-National Orchestra of Sweden, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic of Russia, the Estonia National Symphony, the Mexico State Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, the Alabama Symphony, Aspen Music Festival orchestras, the Knoxville Symphony and the Delaware Symphony. Among the world’s major concert halls and festivals at which Mr. Gao frequently appears are Carnegie Hall, the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, the Aspen Music tent, the Smetana Hall, the “Prague Spring” International Music Festival, the Singapore International Music Festival, the David Oistrakh International Music Festival, the Spoleto Music Festival, the Tallinn International Festival, the Interlochen Festival, and the Meadow Brook Music Festival. Mr. Gao’s master-classes and recital performances are given throughout North America, Asia, Europe and South America. As a creative musician, Mr. Gao composes, arranges and performs in the styles of jazz, bluegrass, Asian folk, and South American music. He is a member of the renowned “China Magpie” ensemble under Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project, which combines the styles of all music from Chinese folk to western classical and rock music. On April 26, 2007, Xiang was featured with “China Magpie” on China’s leading TV station CCTV’s in a live worldwide concert in Zheng Zhou in front of more than one billion TV viewers. He was also featured on August 8, 2007, as soloist for CCTV’s live concert in Macau to celebrate the beginning of the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony. This event was also viewed by more than one billion TV viewers worldwide. With his strong interest in theater and Asian traditional music, Xiang Gao created the acclaimed Butterfly Lovers Multimedia Violin Concerto. Through the use of a modern orchestral or piano score (composed by Zhanhao He and Gang Chen), a solo violin, a synchronized visual presentation of ancient Chinese brush painting on screen and a dramatic reading (written by playwright Danny Peak) presented by two actors, Butterfly Lovers recreates a popular ancient Chinese fairytale (similar to “Romeo and Juliet”) for western world audiences. This production was successfully premiered in the Grand Opera House of Wilmington, Delaware, in 2004 and was most recently awarded a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts. Major orchestral debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra took place on February 17, 2007. As a devoted chamber music performer and promoter, Xiang Gao has collaborated with some of the world’s leading chamber musicians such as members of the Guarneri String Quartet, Opus One, Orion String Quartet and the Beaux Arts Trio; violinists Cho-liang Lin, Pamela Frank, David Kim (concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra), Paul Kantor, and Jonathan Carney (concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony); violists Steven Tenenbom, Daniel Foster (principal violist of the National Symphony), and Hongmei Xiao, former principal violist of the Minnesota Orchestra; Pianists Orli Shaham, Fou Ts’ong, Charles Abramovic and Martin Katz; cellists Andres Diaz, Erling Bengtsson and Peter Wiley; leading members of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and many others. Xiang Gao is the founder and director of three non-profit art organizations: China Music Foundation, “China Virtuosi” chamber ensemble and the University of Delaware’s “ Master Players Chamber Series. ” Mr. Gao lives in Newark, Delaware, where he is the youngest Associate Professor of Music at the University of Delaware’s Department of Music. He is also the winner of the 2002 State of Delaware Division of the Arts Established Artist Award. He performs on a fine violin made by master maker G.B. Ceruti of Cremona, Italy in 1794. This rare instrument was purchased by the University of Delaware to support Mr. Gao’s international performing career which made national news. In 2007, the Stradivari Society in Chicago selected Mr. Gao to be a recipient of the world famous 1699 Stradivarius violin “Lady Tennant” for his international solo concerts. Between his busy performing and teaching careers, Mr. Gao can be found cooking Chinese cuisine, watching college football or skiing with wife Renee on the beautiful mountains of Vail, Colorado. Their daughter, Samantha Rae Gao, was born in May of 2005, and they share their home with two Tonkinese cats, Tiggie and Meili. 100-word bio Recognized as one of the world’s most successful violinist soloists from China, Xiang Gao is cited by the New York Times as “ a rare and soulful virtuoso”. He has performed for many world leaders, his musical integrity and virtuoso technique have gained accolades from audiences and reviewers around the world. Conductor Neeme Jarvi’s comment was “I have conducted many of the world’s top soloists including Joshua Bell and Lang Lang. Mr. Gao is an artist of this stature!” Recently, the Stradivari Society in Chicago selected Mr. Gao to be a recipient of a Stradivarius violin for his international concerts. 50-word bio One of the world’s most successful violinists from China, Xiang Gao is cited by the New York Times as “ a rare and soulful virtuoso”. He has performed for many world leaders, and conductor Neeme Jarvi’s comment was “I have conducted Joshua Bell and Lang Lang. Mr. Gao is an artist of this stature!”