Chandra Xu

Chandra Xu is a second-year master's student in the Screen Scoring program at New York University Steinhardt where she studies composition with five-time Emmy-winning musician, Jamie Lawrence. She has written music for a range of animations, short films, a video game, and a podcast trailer for which she also designed and recorded the script and audio.

In May 2022, Chandra graduated from the Piano Performance program at NYU Steinhardt where she studied with renowned Artist Faculty member Jeffrey Swann.

In 2016 Chandra made her debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall after winning Honorable Mention in the American Protégé International Piano Competition. She has performed piano at the Apollo Theater twice, Skirball Center for Performing Arts, Black Box Theater, Frederick Loewe Theatre, Arvada Center, Armstrong Hall, East Central University, Broomfield Auditorium, and Rosa Auditorium. Chandra’s festival engagements include the Puerto Rico International Piano Festival and Dino Ciani Festival, and she has participated in masterclasses with pianists including Olga Kern, Alexander Kobrin, Peter Takács, Victor Rosenbaum, and Vicki Chow.

As a chamber musician, Chandra has performed in duo-piano ensembles, as orchestral pianist, with woodwinds, voice, and as part of a staged production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, Cinderella. She has appeared as a pianist with Colorado’s Front Range Youth Symphony, in which she was also principal second violinist; highlights of her violin career include playing in the Colorado All-State Orchestra. Most recently, Chandra collaborated with the NYU Orchestra 1 and composers to participate in the premieres of student film scores.