Madeleine Xiao is an Aspiring Musician supported by the APO’s Future Fund. The Future Fund is focused on providing opportunities for talented young musicians who are intent on pursuing a career as a musician. The impact of the Future Fund is seen through increased opportunities for the selected aspiring musicians including performing alongside the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra as a featured musician, exposure to networking opportunities with APO players, managers and agents; and experience in the business of being a performer including mentoring in business management, scheduling and CV preparation.
Madeleine is an up-and-coming young pianist in her second year of study at the University of Auckland School of Music, who is already showing tremendous promise and superstar potential. In the last year alone she has performed as a featured soloist with the Auckland Youth Orchestra, reached the finals of the National Concerto Competition, and been selected as the 2023 entrant to the Haydn Staples APO Piano Scholarship, a prestigious programme for emerging piano soloist students at the University of Auckland School of Music.
Showing her breadth of musical acumen, Madeliene is a also a key player in the Kaha Trio – an ensemble selected in 2022 as one of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s Aspiring Musician Ensembles. Kaha Trio is comprised of Madeleine (piano), Lorna Zhang (violin), and Damon Herlihy-O’Brien (cello). Kaha Trio took part in the New Zealand String Quartet Adam Summer School and have given many performances as APO Aspiring Musicians. Earlier this year they were featured artists at an APO Friends Meet the Artist event, they have performed at multiple APO Donor events, and now will be featured at APO’s Musicalitea on Mother’s day at Hilton Auckland.
You can purchase tickets to Musicalitea here, or to learn more about the Future Fund and how you can best support Aspiring Musicians like Madeliene please contact APO’s Director of Development Melanie Esplin at