Alex Xuyao Bai

Alex Xuyao Bai, 10 years old, Year 5 student at Sunnyhills School in Auckland New Zealand, started learning piano from March till November 2016 with Teacher Tianhui Zhang in California, US. Alex has been learning performance from teacher Able Zhu since January 2017 after he moved to Auckland with his family.

Alex has won numbers of prizes in different piano competitions since 2017. Please find the list below. He was selected to perform at New Zealand Young Chinese Piano and Violin Talent Concert every year from 2017 to 2020. Alex passed ABRSM Grade 5 piano examination with distinction (mark 141/150) and was invited to perform in the Royal School High Scorers’ Concert in 2018, passed ABRSM Grade 5 Music Theory examination with distinction (mark 97/100) in 2019, and will be attending the forthcoming ABRSM Grade 8 piano examination. Alex is an enthusiastic pianist. He also plays clarinet at spare time and dreams of composing etudes and piano concertos in the future.

Alex’s prize list:

Year 2017: APMA 3rd Auckland Music Festival Competition, October 2017: First place, Baroque/Classical age 7 and under. First place, Romantic/Modern, age 7 and under. Overall Winner for the age 7 and under.

Year 2018: (1) North Shore Performing Arts Society 64th Piano Competition, April 2018: First place, Classical class group age 9 and younger. Second place, Modern class group age 9 and younger. (2) West Auckland Performing Arts Competitions 28th Youth Mini Festival Piano Competition, July 2018: First place, Classical for group age 10 and younger. First place, Modern classes for group age 10 and younger. Overall Winner for group age 10 and under. Calum Barnaby Trophy, (3) He won The NZ International Children Piano Competition and was invited to perform with the world acclaimed pianist Richard Clayderman on stage in October 2018. (4) APMA 4th Auckland Music Festival Competition, October 2018: First Place, Baroque/Classical age 7 and under; First Place, Romantic/Modern, age 7 and under; Overall Winner for age 7 and under; Second place, Chinese and NZ music age 12 and under; Third place, Recital age 12 and under.

Year 2019: (1) North Shore Performing Arts Society 65th Piano Competition, April 2019: Second place, Modern class of group age 9 and younger. Third place, Classical class of group age 9 and younger. (2) 77th Hamilton Competitions, July 2019: First prize, Gwenneth Marquand Cup, Baroque & Two contrasting pieces, 8 yrs; First prize, SOVOS Cup, Schubert & Chopin pieces, Open age; Hamilton Competitions Piano Convenors Cup, Most Promising Performance, Under 12 years; Third prize, Sonata – 1st movement, Open age; Third prize, 20th Century, Open age. (3) West Auckland Performing Arts Competitions 29th Youth Mini Festival Piano Competition, July 2019: Overall Winner, Calum Barnaby Trophy, Classical and Modern classes, group age 10 and younger. (4) South Auckland Performing Arts Competition Society 55th Annual Festival, July 2019: First Place, 20th Century to Present, 9 yrs & under; Second Place, Own selection, 8 yrs; Third Place, Baroque, 9 yrs & under. (5) NZ International Star Idol for Kids and Teens, August 2019: Gold Star Award, his prize was a paid international return air ticket. He was also invited as the youngest pianist representing NZ to perform on air on TV Channel GDTV which is the main TV Station in Guangdong China. (6) APPA/ARA Lodge Annual Music Competition, September 2019: Merit Award, Primary/Intermediate School Level. He was invited to perform for APPA Music Festival at Auckland Town Hall on 27th November 2019. (7) APMA 5th Auckland Music Festival Competition, October 2019: First Place, Romantic/Modern, age 8-9; First Place, Piano Duet, ages adding up 20 yrs old & younger; Second Place, Recital, age 12 & under; Second Place, Woodwind, 8 yrs & under.

Year 2020: (1) New Zealand International Young Artists Festival, January 2020: Second Place, Auckland Piano Concerto Competition, age 12 yrs old & younger (2) Oxford International Open Piano Competition, UK (online due to Covid-19), April 2020: First Place, age 7-9, Preliminary round. Final round forthcoming. (3) Charleston International Music Competition, 2020 Contemporary Music Competition, USA (online due to Covid-19), September 2020: First Place, age 10-11. (4) 21st Valsesia Musica Juniores International Competition 2020, Italy (online due to Covid-19), October 2020: First Place, age 10-11.

You can find Alex’s 2020 Contemporary Music Competition performance here.

You can find Alex’s 2020 Romantic Music Competition performance here.

You can find Alex’s 2021 Classical Music Competition performance here.