Nanyang student's bright idea hits right note at Birmingham Jazz Festival

A newly-added piano duel competition held at the 33rd Birmingham Jazz Festival has been hailed a success.

The piano duels were proposed by Nanyang student Xue Xiaolin, who studies piano at the University of Birmingham.

Running from July 14 to 23, the Birmingham Jazz Festival was held across 86 different venues and showcased 210 performances by different musicians from all over the world. A particular highlight of the piano duels was a performance inspired by the famous film The Legend of 1900, drawing praise from international media including the BBC, the European Times and Hong Kong China News Agency.

During an interview with the BBC, Xue expressed her happiness that this new format in Jazz was being used at the illustrious Birmingham Jazz Festival.

Alex Yip, Birmingham's first Chinese councilor, praised Xue for raising the profile of Chinese people in the British media.

Jim Simpson, CEO of the festival, said the event is not just a musical extravaganza, but also a stage for Chinese cultural workers in UK.

In recent years, the number of Chinese students studying music and the arts in Birmingham has increased rapidly.