By: Milou de Meij
For Xiaoya Gao, music is more than just a craft. It is a vehicle for stories, connection, and magic. From her first lessons in her hometown of Urumqi, China to her current role as a performer and educator in the United States, Gao’s journey has been defined by her passion for meaningful musical experience.
Gao began studying piano at age four, and her immense talent was apparent from the very first lesson. Shortly after beginning formal musical study, she started to win numerous awards at local competitions and was invited to spend her summer breaks in Beijing studying with professors at the Central Conservatory of Music.
Yet despite her early success, music was not something she thought of pursuing until she came to Lawrence University where piano department chair Dr. Catherine Kautsky encouraged her to audition for the conservatory. It was here under the tutelage of Dr. Kautsky that Gao began to see music as more than just technical skill but truly an entire emotional language.
“That’s when I really began to understand music,” she says. “Not just playing notes, but translating the score into something personal and alive.”
A major turning point came in 2017 during her semester abroad at the Universitat für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien in Vienna where she performed a Chopin recital under the guidance of Professor Christiane Karajeva. That experience, Gao says, transformed her relationship with the stage. “I fell in love with performing in a new way—it felt like home.”
After graduating from Lawrence, Gao’s musical horizons continued to expand. She earned her Masters in Music at New York University where, under the tutelage of renowned pianist Dr. Marilyn Nonken, she developed a strong passion for new music as well as taught private and group piano lessons. This sparked a strong passion for teaching and led her to receive her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Piano Pedagogy from the University of South Carolina, home to one of the nation’s top-ranked piano pedagogy programs, where she developed a strong musical and teaching philosophy centered around improvisation, collaboration, and joy.
“I want my students to feel inspired, to explore, and to find their own voice,” she says.
Today Gao is a triple threat: seasoned performer, researcher, and dedicated educator. Based in New Jersey, she maintains a strong presence at stages across the East Coast with recent appearances including performances at New York City’s Triad Theatre, Georgetown University’s McNeir Auditorium in Washington, D.C., and Schare Recital Hall at the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center in New Brunswick, NJ. She has also been featured in numerous faculty recitals for the New School for Music Study. Recently she also hosted a special collaborative concert Xiaoya Gao and Friends celebrating the power of classical music in building community.
Looking ahead, she is excited to continue to build connections with local musicians, write her own educational and performance works, and expand her presence at national conferences like Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), continuing to inspire both audiences and students alike.
“I want to keep performing, keep creating, and keep connecting,” says Gao. “Because for me, that’s what music is all about.”
Published by Jeremy S.
