As a soloist and collaborative pianist, Dr. Sui has been featured in various performances in the United States and China. These include appearances at events such as the International Music & Arts Festival in San Diego, the Chamber Music Festival at the University of San Diego, a concert tour with the Ohio University Choral in Pennsylvania and Maryland, the Grieg Piano Duo Concert at California State University-San Marcos and San Diego Mesa College, the Piano Trio concert "Classics at the Merc" in Temecula, and at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing etc. She has performed with musicians such as Hongmei Xiao, Alvin Wong, Angela Yeung, members of the San Diego Symphony, and the Ohio University Choral. Dr. Sui is also dedicated to promoting contemporary music and has performed the world premiere of a piano solo work by her colleague, Momilani Ramstrum, at San Diego Mesa College in 2020.
Dr. Sui has received multiple professional grants, including those from the Edward Grieg Society of the USA in 2019, the AFT Fund for the College Music Society conference in 2020, and a research grant from the Tianjin Municipal Education Commission in 2009. Additionally, Dr. Sui has served as a judge on the panel of various piano competitions, such as the Steinway Piano Competition, the Sonata Competition MTAC North County, and the Chinese Piano Music Competition.
Recognized as a dedicated educator, Dr. Sui was honored with the "Top Piano Teacher Award" from Steinway & Sons in 2023. She has also received numerous teacher recognitions from institutions and competitions such as Tianjin Conservatory of Music, American Protégé International Competition, and Charleston International Competition.
Dr. Sui actively engages with professional organizations. She has been a member of the Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC) since 2011 and currently serves as a board member of the H.B. Goodlin Foundation, MTAC-San Diego. From 2013 to 2017, Dr. Sui served as a board member of the MTAC-San Diego Branch.
Born into a family of musicians, with her parents on the faculty at Tianjin Conservatory of Music, Dr. Sui was immersed in professional musical training from an early age. She studied with renowned pianists and pedagogues such as Qifang Li at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Nicholas Kryzhanovsky and Igor Sukhomlinov, a student of famed pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus, at Odesa Conservatory in Ukraine, as well as Sylvia Eckes, Gail Berenson, Jessica Johnson, and Christopher Taylor. Dr. Sui attributes much of her success to her outstanding teachers.
Dr. Xiao-yan Sui is a classical pianist and dedicated educator with over 20 years of teaching experience. Dr. Sui has served as piano faculty at San Diego Mesa College, Tianjin Conservatory of Music, as well as University of San Diego. Dr. Sui was also a visiting scholar at School of Music, Ohio University in 2000. Additionally, she is also founder of the Dr. Sui Piano Studio where many of her students won numerous international and regional piano competitions.
BIOGRAPHY
EDUCATION
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS 2003-2007
Piano Performance and Pedagogy
University of Wisconsin-Madison
MASTER OF MUSIC 2001-2003
Piano Performance
Ohio University, Athens, OH
BACHELOR OF MUSIC 1994-1998
Piano Performance
Tianjin Conservatory of Music, Tianjin, China
FACULTY POSITION
Dr. Sui Piano Studio, San Diego, CA 2012-now
San Diego Mesa College, San Diego, CA 2014-2022
University of San Diego, San Diego, CA 2013-2014
Tianjin Conservatory of Music, Tianjin, China 2008-2010
Ohio University, Athens, OH 2000-2001
Tianjin Conservatory of Music, Tianjin, China 1998-2000
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