1:47 p.m., Feb. 11, 2008--Internationally renowned University of Delaware violinist Xiang Gao and his China Magpie Ensemble were featured performers during the 42nd annual conference of MIDEM: The World's Music Market held Jan. 27-31 in Cannes, France.

Gao, who is UD associate professor of music and artistic director of the Master Players Chamber Series, was invited to perform at the MIDEM opening night concert by the Chinese government's minister of culture. He and China Magpie performed for more than 2,000 people, many of them representatives of major concert presenting companies, music management companies and recording companies. More than 500 journalists also were in attendance.

Joining Gao and China Magpie for the concert was UD graduate student Adam Baumol, a guest drummer who traveled to Cannes at the invitation of Gao.

The MIDEM concert was aired on primetime television in Europe and China's CCTV, serving more than 1 billion people worldwide. Gao said the performance was “a huge success” and the ensemble was immediately engaged by many concert presenters worldwide to perform over the course of the next two years, including a Carnegie Hall debut in 2009.

The theme of this year's MIDEM conference was the music market in China and the event put Gao in direct contact with nearly 10,000 music and technology professionals from more than 90 different countries and provided him a unique opportunity to explore the music industry's digital and mobile future, and to meet the people shaping it.

Other performances offered by Gao this winter included a recital in Vail, Colo., three performances with the China Magpie in China's Huhhot, Inner-Mongolia, province and a live TV concert in Beijing's People's Hall on TianAnMen Square, which was aired Feb. 3 on CCTV.

Gao's only performance on the UD campus this spring will be in April. The multimedia production “iMusic - Xiang Gao and Friends IV,” created by Gao and his talented colleagues, will premier April 18 and be repeated April 19 in Mitchell Hall. According to Gao, this is a “first of its kind new concept violin concert that will be very memorable and entertaining for audiences of all ages.” Tickets will likely be sold out soon and those who would like to attend should call (302) 831-4012 or download a PDF of the brochure at [www.music.udel.edu/public/masterplayers/MPCS_2007.pdf].

For more information on Gao, visit his personal Web site is at [www.xianggao.net]. To hear a performance by China Magpie, go to [www.udel.edu/UMS/udlive/pr/xiang/china_magpie-hunan.html].

Article by Neil Thomas
Photos courtesy of Xiang Gao