A top prize winner of the 2011 Bauru Atlanta Piano Competition, Xiaoyi Xiong (pronounced as “Shiao- E Shawn) is a classical pianist currently studying with legendary pianist and composer James Robert Floyd. With a full academic scholarship and yearly stipend for undergrad studies from the Frost School of Music at University of Miami, Ella won prizes in the Miami Concerto Competition in 2007 and 2008 and received the Lenore Gaynor Scholarship from Coral Gables communities in South Florida. She is also a first prize winner of the Schumann International Piano Competition (Düsseldorf, Germany) in 2003 and a top prize winner of the 2004 Beethoven International Piano Competition (Asia-Pacific) in both the Professional Contestant Group and the Teenager Group.
Ella was included in the Provost’s Honor Roll, the President’s Honor Roll, and the Dean’s List throughout her four years of college. She is also a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society for being in the top 15% at her university. Ms. Xiong was included in the Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges in 2011. She was chosen to play in numerous master classes, seminars, lectures, and guest performances, including master classes with the Deutsche Grammophon pianist Pierre Laurent-Aimard, Vladimir Viardo, Murray Perahia, Louis Lortie, Dimitri Bashkirov, Boaz Sharon, and Hung-Kuan Chen. She performed Trois mouvements de Pétrouchka by Stravinsky in the master class of Luis Ascot in 2008.
Ms. Xiong’s playing has “Beautiful phrasing, great dynamics, … played with a wonderful understanding of the music” and “Strong, excellent rhythmic grasp and overall control, with memory, ensemble, and preparation.” In the North Miami Beach concert series, Ella’s music showed “wonderful command of the awesome technical demands of the music, very emotional… touches everybody’s heart.”
Xiong graduated from University of Miami in May 2011 with Magna Cum Laude with degrees of piano performance, finance, and business administration. Ms. Xiong was chosen as the only pianist to perform on the 2011 University of Miami Honors Day Convocation as a graduating valedictorian. She continues her studies at the Frost School of Music with a full tuition waiver and teaching assistantship starting August 2011.
© Xiaoyi Xiong 2011
