Associate Professor of Trumpet, The Yehudi Menuhin School Qingdao
President, Guangdong Branch of the China Trumpet Association
Executive Council Member, Guangdong Wind Music Association
Artist Diploma, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Gold Medal Winner, Chamber Music Competition, China Golden Bell Award for Music
Best Teacher Award (Guangdong), China Golden Bell Award for Music

In 2001, Sun Xiao was admitted to the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna as the top-ranked trumpet candidate, studying under the internationally renowned trumpet soloist Professor Carole Dawen Reinhart and Professor Hans Gansch, Principal Trumpet of the Vienna Philharmonic. He received his master’s degree and Artist Diploma in 2010.

From 2008 to 2016, Sun Xiao served as Principal Trumpet of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, taking part in hundreds of major performances at home and abroad and collaborating with many of the world’s leading conductors, demonstrating outstanding ensemble and solo abilities. During this period, as principal trumpet, he collaborated with more than ten orchestras in China and abroad, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the China Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, with a repertoire spanning classical, contemporary and crossover works. In addition, he was invited to give solo and concerto concerts at leading venues such as the Xinghai Concert Hall, the Shenzhen Concert Hall and the Guangzhou Opera House, earning wide acclaim. In 2009, he won the Gold Medal in the Chamber Music Competition of the 7th China Golden Bell Award for Music, one of China’s highest national music awards.

With both international stage experience and proven teaching achievements at the university level, Sun Xiao is committed to nurturing musicians who combine artistic excellence with academic depth. Drawing on years of front-line teaching and orchestral practice, he integrates performance technique with theoretical instruction in a highly effective way, and has a precise understanding of how to guide students’ development and professional growth. During his tenure as Associate Professor at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, many of his students were admitted with outstanding results to postgraduate programmes at leading institutions in China and abroad, including the Central Conservatory of Music, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. His students have won First Prize in the Guangdong division of the national selection round of the 15th China Golden Bell Award for Music, gold medals at national trumpet competitions, and awards at the European Youth Wind Music Competition, among others. He is the chief editor of textbooks including the Xinghai Conservatory of Music Trumpet Graded Examination Series and Trumpet Orchestral Excerpts, published by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press and the Central Conservatory of Music Press. He has undertaken provincial and university-level research projects and published a number of academic papers in core journals, contributing to the systematic development of trumpet pedagogy. He received the Second Prize in the 2nd Guangdong Provincial Teachers’ Basic Skills Competition in Aesthetic Education in 2025, the Best Teacher Award at the 15th China Golden Bell Award for Music, and has been repeatedly honoured with the Xinghai Conservatory of Music “Outstanding Teaching Achievement Award” and the title of “Outstanding Teacher” from the Guangdong Wind Music Association. His student ensembles have also won awards in numerous provincial and national orchestra competitions, reflecting his strength in both teaching and ensemble collaboration.

As the current President of the Guangdong Branch of the China Trumpet Association and Executive Council Member of the Guangdong Wind Music Association, Sun Xiao has planned dozens of international-level concerts and masterclasses, raising the standard of trumpet education in South China. He remains dedicated to bringing his extensive teaching resources, professional network and international perspective to the systematic training of young wind musicians, helping more students achieve their artistic growth and educational goals, and building a high-level platform for trumpet teaching and ensemble training.