About
Dr. June Xiao
About
Dr. June Xiao
About
Dr. June Xiao has been praised by Menahem Pressler, the grand seigneur of the piano, as “a miracle worker with an extraordinary ability to procure and cultivate young talents.” The piano world’s much revered Sergei Babayan says “June has proven to me what a great teacher she has become, having transformed students in record time.”
Dr. Xiao’s deep commitments to students and strong pedagogical lineage has attracted students preparing for successful competition and conservatory auditions under her guidance. Highlights include her work with the prodigious pianist Haochen Zhang, the youngest ever contestant and winner of the 2007 China International and the 2009 Cliburn. In the past three years, her young students have been designated for NPR’s Young Artist Fellowship, Orpheus Classical CD Young Artist of the Year, NPR “From the Top”, CBS Special Feature, WQXR’s Young Artist Showcase, Canada International and Juilliard Precollege Concerto Competitions, etc. Her student was hand chosen by the chairman and jury members of the International Tchaikovsky/Chopin Competitions, as one of the top fifteen classical pianists in the world, under age 16. Denis Matsuev praised Dr. Xiao’s student as “a new star in classical music and the pride of her country.”
Dr. Xiao’s approach, whether to piano instruction or career development, reflects her multifaceted experiences in music. From 2004 to 2013, her career in China included as the founding Music Department Chair at Jinan University in Guangzhou; teaching at the Shenzhen Arts School and supervising as an international project consultant at China’s Poly Performing Arts.
As a parent, Dr. Xiao understands high performing kids and her students have gone on to New York City’s most selective schools and the nation’s top universities.
Articles
Astoria Characters: The Piano Teacher - February 19th, 2023
Written by Nancy Ruhling, Astoria Characters - “Meet the insanely interesting people in NYC’s most diverse neighborhood”
The sound of the piano, powerfully playful, echoes through June Xiao’s duplex apartment.
With her sleek Siberian, Milford, at her feet, she heads to the basement, down two sets of steep steps that are so narrow you almost have to turn sideways, where one of her students is practicing on the Hamburg Steinway. (The gleaming grand piano, in flamed mahogany, came in through the garage legless and was reassembled on site.)
Benny, who at 15 is the same age as June’s daughter, Caroline, is a student in the Manhattan School of Music pre-college program. He has a competition at Juilliard in a couple of hours, and June’s giving him last-minute pointers – and confidence.
They are working on Rachmaninoff; Milford is deciding whether to stay on the floor or jump on the piano.
June, an enthusiastic woman with long black hair and a dulcet voice that’s as soothing as wind chimes, stops Benny mid-note.
Make the melody louder, bolder, she advises in soft tones, adding what he already knows: This will be a make-or-break piece for him, but he can do it once he puts his mind and fingers to it. —
Video
Video Introduction of Dr. June Xiao
Video
Video Introduction of Dr. June Xiao
A video Introduction of Dr. June Xiao; about her education and journey to the U.S and how she can help students, who desire to pursue a future in music, reach their goals. Recorded: March 2023.
Primary Roles
Primary Roles
Primary Roles
Piano Teacher
Repertoire Analysis & Development
Competition Planning & Preparation
Parental Consulting on achieving entrance to leading conservatories, and if transitioning from life in Asia or Europe to the U.S
Business consultant to Chinese, culturally oriented, organizations wishing representation in, or perspective about the U.S
Education
Education
Education
Doctor of Music in Piano Performance and Literature
Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University
Teacher: Menahem Pressler
Master of Arts in Piano Performance
Carnegie-Mellon University
Teachers: Erique Graf and Earl Wild
Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance
Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University
Teachers: Sergei Babayan and Paul Schenly
Pre-College
Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Teaching & Coaching Awards
Teaching & Coaching Awards
Teaching & Coaching Awards
● Grand Prize, 2022 Philadelphia International Competition
● CBS News Feature (here)
● 2022 NPR Young Artist Fellowship
● NPR “From the Top” 3/26/2022
● Juilliard Gina Bachauer Scholarship
● 1st Prize, 2021 Canada International
● Invitation by Denis Matsuev/3rd Grand Piano Competition, Moscow, 3/2021
● 2020 Orpheus Classical CD Artist
● Great Award, 2020 Manhattan International Competition
● Young Artist Showcase: Bob Sherman WQXR
● NYC Debut Recital at Rockefeller University 5/15/2020, Postponed due to Covid
● Juilliard Pre-College Prokofiev 3rd Concerto Competition, Alternate Winner, 2019
● Grand Prize, Metropolitan International Piano Competition 2019
● 3rd Prize, Kaufman Competition, NYC 2019
● X. Li (Age 14) Accepted at Hutton Honors College & Jacobs School of Music IU-Bloomington (Music & Math), 2016
● HC Zhang, Gold Medalist, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, 2009
● HC Zhang, Gold Medalist, China International Piano Competition, 2008
● A.Jiang, 1st Prize, Steinway Competition China, Division C, 2009
● M. Yang, 1st Prize, Kawai Competition China (Category B), 2007
Students' Performances
Students' Performances
Recent Students’ Performances
Yaoyao Zhou- Age12
24 Chopin Etudes
Xuanxiang Wu- Age14
Rachmaninoff Sonata #2
Jessie Gong- Age15
Rachmaninoff Op.16/2.1.6
References
Menahem Pressler, Distinguished Professor of Piano
Sergei Babayan, Mr. and Mrs. John D. Gilliam Artist-in-Residence
Cleveland Institute of Music
Haochen Zhang, Winner, 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Rui Cheng, Director, Poly Performing Arts
Zhang Tie-Lin, Dean, College of Arts, Jinan University
Dr Christopher Wai-chee Cheng, GBS, JP, Chairman, Wing-tai Properties Group