Xiao Liang is a pianist whose performance, teaching, and research activities span the United States, Italy, Finland, Malaysia, and China. She has earned recognition at numerous competitions, including First Prize in the 2024 FSU Annual Competition, Best Etude Award at the USCI Young Artist International Piano Festival (Malaysia), First Prize at Italy’s Maccagno Young Artist Piano Festival, Gold Award at the AACE New York International Music Competition, Second Prize at the Rockwood Piano Competition, and an Excellent Award at China’s CCTV Piano and Violin Competition.

In 2021, she was invited to produce MIDI piano accompaniments of Chinese songs for the 4D Music Pocket Player app. Handling arrangement, performance, and editing independently, she blended expressive artistry with technological precision. Her work was permanently featured in the app’s international library, promoting Chinese repertoire through digital innovation.

Liang’s research focuses on cross-cultural piano repertoire, performance anxiety, and inclusive music education. She frequently presents at national and international conferences, including MTNA, ISME, FSMTA, and CMS. She holds a B.A. in Musicology from Beijing Normal University under Lanlan Guo, an M.M. in piano performance from the University of Florida (with full scholarship and assistantship) under Jasmin Arakawa, and a Performance Diploma from Indiana University with Emile Naoumoff (the last protégé of Nadia Boulanger). She earned her D.M. in Piano Performance at Florida State University, studying with Read Gainsford and a specialization in Piano Pedagogy under Diana Dumlavwalla. She is currently a member of the teaching faculty at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, where she also serves as a collaborative pianist.