24/5/2023 –

In September 2022, Xavier joined the third year undergraduate Chinese Language and Culture class at Nanjing Normal University, where he will continue to enjoy education until July, after which he will move to Shanghai to officially start his PhD candidacy at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music starting in September 2023.

In the meantime, he has worked on several commissions. First and foremost, he composed Madhouse for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which will see its world premiere on 8 September 2023 during the RCO’s Opening Night, in which Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda will lead the orchestra in what will undoubtedly prove to be a spectacular performance. Secondly, he assisted his former composition teacher Anthony Fiumara in writing Echoes of Van Gogh, a full-scale ballet which will also see its world premiere on 8 September 2023 in Perth, performed by the West Australian Ballet Company. Xavier, in cooperation with Anthony, worked primarily on the ballet’s orchestration. Finally, over the past months he has worked closely with pianist Iris Hond for an upcoming nationwide tour through the Netherlands: Iris Hond & Kamerata Zuid (Dutch language only). He composed the string orchestra accompaniment to eight of Iris’ own compositions. Kamerata Zuid will be lead by chief conductor Frank Adams.