Sean Gao

Biography

Named as Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year in 2021, Sean Gao is one of the world's most successful presenters, producers, composers, and pedagogues. As a concert violin soloist, his musical integrity and virtuoso technique have gained accolades from audiences and reviewers around the world. He has also been a featured soloist performing with more than 100 orchestras worldwide and for many world leaders. Mr. Gao is also the director and founding member of  6-WIRE, the UD Ensemble-in-Residence since 2010 promoting cultural exchange with new music. In 2014, he was granted the Delaware Governor’s Award for his contribution to the arts.

As a composer and songwriter with a focused mission to attract new and younger audiences to performing arts, Sean Gao conceptualized and composed “Shanghai Sonatas,” a new musical that combines musical theatre, live classical music and visual art. It is based on the memoirs of Jewish refugee musicians who escaped Nazi Germany and found refuge in Shanghai and how music helped them to survive the war. This production is currently being developed in New York City and touring as a concert production.

Mr. Gao is the University of Delaware (UD) Trustees Distinguished Professor of Music and the founding director of the UD Master Players Concert Series, a flagship presenting organization in the Mid-Atlantic region. He performs on a fine violin made by master maker G.B. Ceruti of Cremona, Italy in 1794. The University of Delaware purchased this rare instrument to support Mr. Gao's international performing career. In 2007, the Stradivari Society in Chicago selected Mr. Gao to be a recipient of world-famous Stradivarius violins for his international solo concerts. 

Mr. Gao is represented by the California Artists Management. He lives in Newark, Delaware with his wife Dr. Renee Zhiyin Dong, daughter Sammi, and two cats Luna and Mika.