Michel Xie – piano

Dutch pianist Michel Xie has established himself as a collaborative pianist and chamber musician; he is currently based in The Netherlands. Highlights of previous season were performances a.o. in Wigmore Hall (London, UK), release of a CD-recording with his duo-partner Julie Park (viola) under Linn Records and the appointment of the Hodgson Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Music. Since November 2021 he works as a freelance collaborative pianist at the Conservatory of Amsterdam coaching students of Arno Piters (clarinet) and Peter Brunt (violin). From September 2023 he will be joining the faculty of the Conservatory of Amsterdam as a Collaborative Pianist (Correpetitor). 

Michel is the founder and artistic director of a new chamber music festival 'Rhinegold Festival’. which is based in Wageningen, The Netherlands. It held its first edition in October 2022 and will be continuing with a second edition on 12, 13 and 14 October 2023. 

He is a graduate of the Conservatory of Amsterdam where he obtained a Bachelor of Music (2016) and a Master of Music (2018) under the tutelage of Frank van de Laar and Frank Peters. He continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music where he specialised in ‘Collaborative Piano’. He learned with a.o. Michael Dussek and James Baillieu and obtained a Master of Arts (2020, DipRAM) and Advanced Diploma (2021). During his studies he won the 2nd prize at the Schumann Lieder competition, the Harold Craxton Prize for chamber music and the Regency Award for distinguished studentship and contribution to the Academy.

His studies were fully funded by Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, VSBfonds, Hendrik Mullerfonds, Stichting Niemeijer Fonds, Jacques Vonk Fonds, Stichting Bekker la Bastide Fonds, Muziekfonds Stringendo and Royal Academy of Music.

He won prizes in The Netherlands at competitions such as Prinses Christina Concours, Stichting Jong Muziektalent and Vrienden Cultuurprijs. This has led to national and international concerts with a.o. Het Gelders Orkest and Orkest van het Oosten (currently named Phion).

Next to performing, Michel also has a passion for teaching and making classical music more accessible for the younger generation. He is presenting interactive children concerts in the Classic Express, a mobile concert hall initiated by the Prinses Christina Concours. He is also a jury member of ‘De Muziekwedstrijd’: an online music competition for young children. 

With the help of Stichting Eigen Muziekinstrument, he was granted the ability to purchase his own grand piano. With support of Ars Donandi, Willem Mengelbergfonds and Heij-Konijnfonds, he was able to enrich his pianistic and musical skills in masterclasses with eminent professors such as Paul Badura-Skoda, Pascal Devoyon, Christopher Elton, Andrei Gavrilov, Matti Raekallio and Jan Wijn.