Manhattan School of Music Appoints New Violin Faculty

Violinists Chloé Kiffer and Xiao Wang have recently arrived at MSM, where they join other new faculty members Eugene Drucker, Ilmar Gavilan, and David Chan

The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) recently recruited two new violinists to its faculty. They are Chloé Kiffer and Xiao Wang, who are both alumni of the school.

French violinist Chloé Kiffer has appeared at a number of prestigious concert venues across Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, and Asia. She is on faculty at the University of North Texas, the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division, and the FaceArts Institute of Music in Shanghai. Kiffer is a sought-after pedagogue whose students have won a number of national and international competitions.

Xiao Wang won First Prize at the 2012 Szigeti International Violin Competition and 2016 New York Concert Artist auditions. He is also a laureate of the 2015 Queen Elizabeth Competition and the 2015 Seoul International Competition.

Kiffer and Wang join several other prominent new faculty members at MSM, including Eugene Drucker (founding member of the Emerson String Quartet), Ilmar Gavilán (founding member of the Harlem Quartet), and David Chan (longstanding concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra).

"Chloé and Xiao are wonderful new additions to our impressive and inspiring Strings faculty at MSM, said department chair Nicholas Mann. "These two newest faculty appointments, in addition to other recent additions to the department, such as Eugene Drucker and Ilmar Gavilán, are building on a tradition of excellence that runs deep in this institution."

"As MSM continues to build on its more than 100 years of excellence, it is exciting to welcome these talented and creative artist-educators as faculty, and, in the case of Chloé and Xiao, both of whom earned multiple degrees here, to welcome them home," said the Executive Vice President and Provost Joyce Griggs.

"Their respective track records as musicians and teachers, combined with their belief in the mission of MSM and their commitment to our Cultural Inclusion initiatives, will greatly enhance the Strings faculty and the School writ large."