Gulimina Mahamuti
Gulimina Mahamuti (; born 9 May 1978) is a Chinese-American pianist. Biography. A native of Karamay City in Xinjiang, Western China and the first Uyghur in China to receive a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the United States, Gulimina Mahamuti performs extensively in major cities in Canada, China and the U.S., with broadcasts on radio and State TV. On 8 January 2012, she performed at Carnegie Hall on solo piano and violin-piano duo with violinist Selim Giray. In addition to Turkish music for violin and piano, she performed Xinjiang solo piano music from western  China by Shi Fu and Chen Yi, including premiere performances of Chen's "Variations on" ""Awariguli"," published by the Theodore Presser Company and the "D String Song" and "Eagle Flute Dance" from Xinjiang Suite No. 2 by Chinese composer Shi Fu. Having extensive collaborative performance experiences, Gulimina performed piano solo and violin-piano duo recitals with Giray in Budapest at the invitation of the Turkish Ambassador in Hungary and in Istanbul under the auspices of Turkish State Conservatory of Music, where their recital was broadcast by Istanbul Technical University Radio. In the U.S., they gave recitals at many universities and  music schools, including the opening concert for the "Year of the Nation Turkey" celebration at Queens College of The City University of New York. Mahamuti's orchestral appearances include performances of Benjamin Britten's Piano Concerto, op. 13 with the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra on 14 April 2012, Saint-Saëns’ "Le carnaval des animaux" with the Southeast Kansas Symphony Orchestra (2010) and Chopin's "Andante Spianato et Grand Polonaise, in E-flat major, op. 22" and the "Yellow River" Piano Concerto with the Harbin Symphony Orchestra in China (2005). In 2008, she opened the UMKC festival, ""A Schoenberg Retrospective"," with "Drei  Klavierstücke, op. 11". In the fall of 2011 Mahamuti joined the faculty of the Department of Music at Ohio Wesleyan University. She is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) in piano in the U.S. and has previously taught at the conservatories of music of Capital University (U.S.) and of Northwest University for Nationalities in China. She performs extensively as a guest pianist in American colleges and universities and in music schools in China, where she was interviewed frequently by China newspapers and State TV and where her performances were broadcast on multiple occasions. In 2010, she performed and lectured  in Beijing, Lanzhou, and Karamay, where she was featured in a two-part TV series on China State TV. Her life story, from her first piano lesson in Karamay to her earning a doctorate in the U.S., was the subject of a TV documentary in Gansu Province|Gansu Province Public TV. Many of her students in China won Asian and domestic piano competitions and because of their achievements, she received the Excellent Piano Teacher Award on multiple occasions. Mahamuti was published in major music journals in both China and the U.S. Her articles on piano education, pedagogy, and performance practices appeared  in prestigious Chinese journals, including the "People’s Music". After an extensive nationwide research, she presented the results on how today's economy affected private music teaching at the Music Teachers National Association National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Her article, "Professional Development Makes You Recession-Resistant," was published in "Clavier Companion"; it was translated into Italian and appears in "Didattica". Her CD recording, Xinjiang Piano Music from Western China, features works by Chen Yi and Shi Fu. Her master's thesis in China on "Shi Fu’s Xinjiang Piano Suites from an Eastern-Islamic Music Vantage Point" has become the  main reference for Chinese and Western music scholars in their research and writing about his life and compositions. Her recent editorial work on Shi Fu's piano compositions was highly praised by the Shanghai Music Publisher in China. She received the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she was selected to attend The Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award Luncheon and where she became a twice-recipient of UMKC Women's Council Graduate Assistance Fund Fellowship and its Outstanding Merit Recipient. She received two Master of Music degrees, one in Piano  Performance with Graduate Dean Academic Honors from Pittsburg State University and one in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from Harbin Normal University in China. Mahamuti was elected to Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Kappa Lambda honor societies.