Xinrui Huang (DMA Piano), a student of Craig Sheppard, performs works by Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Tan Dun in this solo piano degree recital.
Program
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (Scenes from Childhood) - Robert Schumann
1. A Tale of Distant Lands (1810-1856)
2. A Curious Story
3. Blind Man’s Bluff
4. Pleading Child
5. Happy Enough
6. An Important Event
7. Reverie
8. At the Fireside
9. Knight of the Hobbyhorse
10. Almost Too Serious
11. Frightening
12. Child Falling Asleep
13. The Poet Speaks
Klavierstücke, Op. 118（Six Pieces for Piano) - Johannes Brahms
1. Intermezzo in A Minor (1833-1897)
2. Intermezzo in A Major
3. Ballade in G Minor
4. Intermezzo in F Minor
5. Romance in F Major
6. Intermezzo in E-Flat Minor
Eight Memories in Watercolor (1978) - Tan Dun (b. 1957)
1. Missing Moon
2. Staccato Beans
3. Herdboy’s Song
4. Blue Nun
5. Red Wilderness
6. Ancient Burial
7. Floating Clouds
8. Sunrain
Biography
Xinrui Huang is a signed artist with Hemiola and a member of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). She is currently pursuing her Doctoral of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance at the University of Washington, under the tutelage of Craig Sheppard.
Xinrui is an active performer and has been invited to perform as a soloist and chamber musician at several prestigious music venues in the United States such as the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kresge Auditorium at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Meydenbauer theater in Bellevue and Meany Hall at University of Washington. In March 2025, Xinrui was invited to perform on King FM’s NW Focus Live as one of the featured representatives of Craig Sheppard’s piano studio at the University of Washington. She performed Schumann’s Kinderszenen and participated in an on-air interview. In April 2024, as one of the winners of the Piano Concerto Competition, she performed Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Northwest Sinfonietta at Meany Hall of the University of Washing in Seattle, conducted by David Rahbee. In March 2024, She was invited by the “Golden Classical Music Award” to make her debut at Carnegie Hall in New York. In February 2024, she was invited to perform in the “Ode to Spring” Chinese New Year Gala at Meydenbauer Theater, etc..
Described by acclaimed pianist and former Oberlin Conservatory professor Peter Takacs as “both a poetic and powerhouse pianist,” Xinrui has received top prizes in numerous national and international competitions. Her accolades include First Prizes at the Debussy International Music Competition, Golden Classical Music Awards, Charleston International Music Competition, and the International German Music Competition. She also earned Second Prize in the Washington State Music Teachers Association (WSMTA) Young Artist Division and was a prizewinner in the Yamaha Asia Piano Competition, as well as other early honors in Jiangsu’s Jasmine Cup and the Macau Piano Invitation Competition. She has appeared at major international festivals such as the second Sino-US Exchange Music Festival held by the New England Conservatory of Music, Mannes Sound Festival of ‘Music Excursion through History’, the Beijing International Music Festival & Academy, and the Seattle Piano Institute.
In 2019, she attained her bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Nanjing University of Arts under the mentorship of Gang Sun on First-class scholarship as the recognition of her academic excellence. During her undergraduate years, Xinrui stood out as the sole representative from the Conservatory of Music chosen to embark the exchange program at Taiwan University of the Arts with a full scholarship in 2017 under the guidance of Minhui Wang. In 2022, She received her master’s degree in Piano Performance from Mannes School of Music in New York with a generous scholarship, under the guidance of Jerome Rose. She has presented at masterclasses for renowned pianists including Alon Goldstein, Alvin Chow, Alexandra Dossin, Danwen Wei, Gabriel Chodos, Gabriel Kwok, Garrick Ohlsson, Robin McCabe, Pavlina Dokovska, Victor Rosenbaum, etc..