Contact
Departments
Vocal Studies
Education
DMA - University of Maryland
MM - New England Conservatory of Music
MM - Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
BM - The Manhattan School of Music
Courses Taught
Vocal Coaching
Q&A
What is your hometown?
Tianjin, China
What is your favorite recording?
My recent favorite recording is Christian Thielemann conducting Wagner’s Die Walküre at the 2017 Salzburg Easter Festival. The cast is magnificent, and Thielemann’s musical choices, the tempo, pacing, expansive phrasing, and the way the drama unfolds, as everything feels just so right, and attuned!
What are you passionate about outside of music?
I love cooking and doing handcrafts, which help me slow down and bring me a sense of peace.
Who were your major teachers?
Rita Sloan, Cameron Stowe, Jonathan Feldman, Antti Siirala, and Solomon Mikowsky.
What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?
"One advantage of singing is that we have words to guide us. It’s important to use the language to tell the story, and that helps shape our musical choices."
Biography
Chinese-born pianist Erica Xiaoyan Guo has been praised by San Francisco Classical Voice as having “a marvelously flexible touch, the kind of playing that makes you want to hear more…”. She performs extensively as a solo pianist, collaborative pianist, and chamber musician, and has appeared at major venues including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Nymphenburg Palace, Temppeliaukion kirkko, and Musiikkitalo. She made her debut on the Schwabacher Recital Series in 2022.
Dr. Guo currently serves on the coaching faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is on the music staff at the Santa Fe Opera since 2022. She has also served on the music staff of Minnesota Opera, Utah Opera, New Orleans Opera Association, and Dayton Opera, and served on the opera coaching faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music in 2024.
An alumna of the Merola Opera Program and the Aspen Music Festival and School, Dr. Guo holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland and received additional training at the Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.