About

Photo by Andrej Grilc

Percussionist Oliver Xu has been internationally recognized as a solo performer advocating for contemporary music. Based in NYC, he is an alum of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect and performs with flutist Catherine Boyack as Coriolis Duo. This season, he will give the world premiere of Ted Babcock’s Daisy Chain, a Coriolis Duo commission supported by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s 2025 Creative Engagement Grant, and perform Wynton Marsalis’ A Fiddler’s Tale at Weill Recital Hall. Highlights from recent seasons include New York performances presented by Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City, and Chelsea Music Festival as well as performances abroad at Madrid’s Reina Sofía Museum and Shanghai’s Shangyin Opera House.

A dedicated educator, Oliver taught at P.S. 21 in Flushing through Ensemble Connect and regularly gives masterclasses at colleges around the country including Colorado State University, University of Central Florida, and University of North Florida. In recent years, he has taught orchestral percussion and coached percussion ensembles at Fordham University and Hunter College.

Oliver has won the Percussive Arts Society Solo Artist Competition and the Great Plains International Marimba Competition. He has also received Third Prize at the Sixth IPEA International Percussion Competition and the Youth Jury Prize at the TROMP International Percussion Competition. In November of 2019, he was selected as one of six semi-finalists at the 74th Geneva International Music Competition. Oliver is proud to endorse Marimba One, Zildjian, and Black Swamp Percussion products.

An in-demand percussionist and timpanist, Oliver has performed with groups such as the Kansas City Symphony, Mark Morris Dance Group Music Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, Manhattan Chamber Players, New York Classical Players, Metropolis Ensemble, NOVUS NY, the Da Capo Chamber Players, and The Dessoff Choirs. He has worked with conductors Matthias Pintscher, Susanna Mälkki, Marin Alsop, David Robertson, John Adams, Barbara Hannigan, Tan Dun, and Brad Lubman. While a student at Juilliard, he was featured in performances at Alice Tully Hall on works by Steve Reich and Olivier Messiaen.

Oliver graduated from The Juilliard School with a Master of Music, where he studied with Daniel Druckman and was awarded the Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant upon graduation. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance as a Lois S. Rogers Scholar from the Eastman School for Music, where he studied with Michael Burritt. Oliver has a strong interest in non-western music, having studied mbira with Dr. Jennifer Kyker and mridangam with Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy.

Oliver also received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Rochester as a Dual Degree student. He was awarded the Robert L. Wells Prize by the Hajim School of Engineering, which recognizes excellence in both engineering and humanities.