Renowned Chinese accordionist Xia Gang; Associate Professor at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music; a Director of Chinese Accordion Association and Chairman of the China Accordion Club will be one of the featured soloists at the 2016 ATG Competition and Festival.

The ATG Festival will be held in Lisle, (Chicago), Illinois from July 20-23, 2016. From the ATG website:



Born in 1980 in Chengdu, China, Xia Gang started his accordion journey with Professor Wu Shouzhi at the age of 4. When he was 12, he entered the affiliated Junior Music Academy of the Sichuan Conservatory of music where he won many local, provincial and national competitions. Discoverd by Professor Oleg Sharov of St. Petersburg State Conservatory of Music, Xia went on to study the accordion professionally in Russia where he graduated from Russia’s prestigious St. Petersburg State Conservatory of Music in 2003, earning a Master’s Degree.


 
In 1999 he won the First Prize at the “Baltica-harmonica” International Accordion Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia, becoming the first Chinese to win First place in the International competition with Bayan (Button Accordion) and was invited to represent China to play solo concert at the 16th Annual International Accordion Festival held in St. Petersburg in 2000. Attracting participants from 20 countries, his performance there was well-received. In both 2002 and 2004, he earned 4th place at the CIA “Coupe Mondiale” World Accordion Championships . Also in 2002, Mr. Xia performed at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory with the Russian Folk Orchestra of St. Petersburg.

From 2000 through 2007 he presented solo concerts at conservatories throughout China, including Beijing’s Central Conservatory, as well as those in Shanghai, Tianjin, Sichuan, Kunming, Guangzhou, Anhui, and others. In February 2008 he accepted an invitation to perform in Singapore at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) Lee Foundation Theatre. In 2014, Xia Gang performed as guest artist at the 74th ATG (Accordionists and Teachers Guild, International) Annual Festival in San Francisco. Xia Gang’s CD Recording “From Tango to Peking Opera” published by China Record Corporation in 2003 is the 1st Bayan (Button Accordion) CD in China.
 


He currently serves as the General Secretary of Organizing Committee for both the Lira International Music Festival in Russia and the Zhongsin International Music Competition in Singapore. Under his organization, the Zhongsin International Music Competition is celebrating its ninth year, averaging 10,000 participants nationwide each year, including traditional Chinese instruments, vocals, keyboards and other musical genres. Every year, well-known musicians and professors are invited to take part in the festival as experts and judges, as well as giving concerts during the competition, creating an enriching experience for both the students and parents.

An ambassador for the accordion in China, he has represented the Chinese Accordion Association on trips to Denmark, France, Hungary, Slovakia, New Zealand, Republic of China, and others.
 
Xia Gang has been invited to take part on the judging panel for many prestigious music competitions.

Many of his students have won prizes at international and national competitions as well, the total number of awards is more than 40, including a 3rd place winner at the “Castelfidardo Accordion Competition” in Italy, which is considered an “A Class International Competition” by the China Ministry of Culture.
Xia Gang is the author of “A Sheet Music Series Book of Bayan Progress Studies”. Published by Sichuan University Press in 2011, this is China’s first system of Bayan (Button Accordion) teaching method and is now widely used in the major schools of music.