You may remember Hannah Xiong from these pages. Over the years, the Chiang Mai-based soprano has established herself as a familiar presence in the city’s musical world: performing at consulate events, taking the title role of Christine in a concert version of The Phantom of the Opera, appearing regularly at Le Crystal Restaurant and teaching the next generation of singers.
Following her success at the Chiang Mai International Music Competition, where she received the competition’s highest grade and won a scholarship to compete in Taipei, she travelled to the final and was awarded a Gold-level recommendation. Now back home, she is already preparing for her next, considerably bigger, leap: advanced vocal training in the UK, Ireland and Hungary, beginning in September 2027.
“I don’t need another degree,” she says. “I already have a Master of Music with distinction and a First-Class Honours degree from Payap University.” What she is looking for now is specialised training that will take her voice, musicianship and teaching to another level.
Getting there, however, involves rather more than singing beautifully. There are deadlines, personal statements, high-standard recorded portfolios and notarised translations, all opening and closing at different times. “Let’s not talk about that,” she laughs.
Hannah is no stranger to starting over somewhere unfamiliar. She spent two years studying in Chengdu, China, having begun her studies online during the pandemic — sometimes attending four-hour Chinese-language classes beginning at 3am. In Chengdu she immersed herself in the language and culture while studying alongside international students and presenting both Chinese and Western music recitals.
Long before China, she had already demonstrated the determination that has become something of a trademark. She has conceptualised and performed eight full-length recitals across Thailand and China, while continuing to teach private vocal students throughout Northern Thailand.
Her academic work has been equally rigorous. Her Master’s dissertation examined melancholy in the songs of John Dowland, where every word carries weight, and she graduated with an outstanding 90.64 average, including several Excellent grades and an extraordinary 97% in Vocal Pedagogy.
Her own musical philosophy is rooted in classical technique but refuses to be boxed in by genre. Hannah is quick to point out that she is not an opera singer, but a singer with a strong classical foundation. That training allows her to move between opera, musical theatre and contemporary repertoire while protecting the voice — something she learned especially well from her long-term vocal coach, who himself trained in London and worked across classical and musical theatre.
Today, you will also find her singing with Lannacapella, where every voice is welcomed and cherished. On 27th August she performed Loch Lomond and more alongside Matt Kelly at Thamma Prateep Church. For Hannah, singing is as much about community and connection as technique.
And that belief extends beyond the stage.
Through her work with the Harp and Music Centre, she sees how the right school and teachers can transform a young performer’s confidence and possibilities. She also sees who is missing. For many girls from hill-tribe communities, music education is simply beyond their families’ means.
“Talent is distributed equally,” she says, “but opportunity is not.”
It is this that gives her European ambitions a bigger purpose. Hannah wants to return to Northern Thailand with greater expertise — as a performer, teacher and advocate — and help build accessible, culturally rooted vocal education where a child’s talent matters more than their ability to pay.
Leaving Chiang Mai will not be easy. She will miss her family, particularly her nephews, her animals and her friends. She knows this because she has done it before.
Scared?
“Scared of what? Strange food and beer? Perhaps.”
She laughs. China taught her how to be far from home, how to cope with criticism, unfamiliar winters, unfamiliar food and the occasional wrong turn.
She is ready to do it again.
And this time, she knows exactly why she is going.
Read more about her at Finding her voice: Hannah Xiong’s journey from Chiang Mai to Taipei – Chiang Mai Citylife
