Hexing Xiao
Piano
Originally from the very central part of Middle Kingdom (Chengdu, China — where the people are known for being saccharinely sweet while the food devilishly hot), Dr. Hexing Xiao acquired a love for piano and an interest in playing with a range of both sound and musical taste.
Xiao completed his terminal degree in Piano Performance at Peabody Conservatory; however, he often wishes that he would be awarded degrees in over-thinking and excessive practicing, which his wife thinks he’s equally worthy of. Fortunately, because of the prolonged, self-inflicted isolation from too much studying, Xiao loves every chance he gets to connect with people, including his students, colleagues, audience, and of course his his family.
A bard by training and profession, Xiao oscillates between being a wizard of the archaic musical arts and a crusader who counterstrikes against the apocalyptic digital zombie land.
Apart from honing his own skills at the keyboard, Xiao has been an active piano teacher of the Baltimore community, sharing passion with students at UMBC, Peabody Preparatory, and other local schools. Although Xiao is specialized in the classical tradition as a performer, his academic curiosity goes above and beyond, as is evidenced by his recent research presentations on Chinese dialect rap at regional and international musicology conferences.
Xiao currently serves as piano faculty at Harford Community College and Cockeysville Music Education Center. At his leisure, Xiao enjoys jogging, cooking, and spending time on family projects with his wife and their two young children, Sommer and Felix.
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Piano is the thrill to render a fiendish piece seemingly effortlessly under the spotlights, but is also the wonder witnessing the tiniest hands picking out their “twinkle twinkle,” or the laughter ringing when the nimble fingers nailed it double speed, or the mellowness flowing beneath the carved palms with another variation of Mozart K.265.
To learn piano playing, we grow and challenge ourselves to the fullest: from unable to read the score, find the keys, hear the harmony to a time when music goes beyond a synthesis of eyes, hands and ears to a celebration of our intellect, emotion and memory.
Along this musical path, I delight the youngest minds with whimsical games, divulge my practicing and performing routines with developing pianists, and discuss (sometimes too much) the people and history behind the music with mature students whose scintillating minds always meander beyond the scope of the scores.
I always say that nobody needs to be a Michelin chef to enjoy cooking, but everybody can benefit from learning from one. With the musical assets I amassed throughout the years, as an amateur and a Peabody doctorate, from concert stages to teaching studios, I’m confident to give the best to my students. Together we turn those morsels of practice into an ultimate musical feast.
Education and teaching highlights:
B.S., Physics, Beijing Normal University
D.M.A., Piano Performance, Peabody Institute
Former piano faculty, Peabody Preparatory
Piano faculty, Harford Community College
READ ABOUT ALL OUR TEACHERS
Cecelia Prinkey Alec Davis Justine Koontz Marie Herrington
Eric Hiller Hexing Xiao