Yang Gao

Born in Dalian, China, pianist Yang Gao is praised for performances that blend emotional depth with refined musical insight, he has been described as playing “with exuberance, graced with a sensitive touch and eloquent articulations.”

A frequent presence on international stages, Gao has participated in prestigious competitions including the Charles Wadsworth Piano Competition, Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, Leeds International Piano Competition, and the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw.

He was awarded First Prize in the Harrison Winter Concerto Competition, performing Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra under Stefan Asbury. He has been featured on WQXR Classical Music Radio, in Portland Piano International’s Rising Star Series, and at venues including Bohemian National Hall, the German Consulate General, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as part of the Mannes Sounds Festival.

Gao was a Gilmore Piano Festival fellowship recipient and has appeared in masterclasses and concerts at festivals such asPianoSummer at New Paltz, Art of the Piano, Eastern Music Festival, and the Sarasota Music Festival.

His honors include scholarships from Matinée Musicale Cincinnati, the Art of the Piano Foundation, and the Feltsman Piano Foundation. He has also received the Steinway Award from the Mannes School of Music and the Denes and Mary Agay Piano and Composition Scholarship from the Peabody Institute.

Gao holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Awadagin Pratt, and a Master of Music from the Mannes School of Music under Vladimir Feltsman. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts at the Peabody Conservatory with HieYon Choi.