Bihan Li, a distinguished Chinese violinist and Juilliard alumna, has made her mark on the world stage as a soloist, concertmaster, and chamber musician. Her talent has been lauded with top honors at international competitions. Notably, she has graced venues like Carnegie Hall and the United Nations Headquarters as well as Fontainebleau Castle with her performances, and she has been a part of prestigious collaborations, including with Yujia Wang, Joan Tower, Jaime Laredo, Zhou Long, etc.
Li’s chamber music expertise is highlighted by her Prix Ravel award and the prize for the Best Interpretation of the Ravel Quartet granted by Fontainebleau Castle and Fondation Maurice Ravel in 2018, and she has been a driving force in acclaimed quartet performances. In 2019, she joined Dawn Upshaw’s concert at National Sawdust as a collaborative violinist, premiering composer Susan Botti’s Italian Folk Songs. In 2016, she was featured in a Mendelssohn Octet performance with her colleagues at the National Theatre of Cuba.
Her orchestral leadership was showcased during her tenure as concertmaster with NYO-China in 2017 at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Ludovic Morlot. The same year, Bihan was appointed as the concertmaster of the Bard Conservatory Orchestra under Maestros Leon Botstein and Jean-Marie Zeitouni. In 2019, she joined New York String Orchestra Seminar under maestro Jaime Laredo and the Juilliard Orchestra under maestros Jeffrey Milarsky and David Robertson.
In the realm of music education, Li is as passionate about teaching as she is about performing, having served as a jury member for several international music competitions, including Forte International Music Competition and Festivals in New York, Mimas Music Festival Violin Competition in Italy, Jean Sibelius International Online Instrumental Music Competition in Finland, and Music & Stars Awards in Europe.
Bringing music to community spaces has always been an essential part of her musical philosophy. In the summer of 2014, Bihan was invited to teach for public welfare at the only Buddhist art troupe in China - the Hong’an Tiantai Mountain Buddhist Temple Music Troupe; as the adjunct violin faculty there, she held violin master classes and music appreciation activities, leading nuns to experience the charm of Western classical music in the mountains. In 2017, she performed as a chamber musician at school outreach concerts and master classes in Pennsylvania, and in the following year, she was invited to perform at Resident at Kenda on Hudson, a nonprofit life plan community. In 2022, she was invited to give a non-profit concert at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills in Philadelphia during the Thanksgiving holiday, connecting with the fascinating life-sharing community that includes individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Li holds a Master of Music Degree from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of violinist Ronald Copes, the second violin in the Juilliard Quartet. She completed her double degrees in Violin Performance and Asian Studies as a full-ride scholarship recipient at Bard Conservatory of music, studying with Weigang Li and Laurie Smukler. Currently a doctoral candidate at the Manhattan School of Music, she is under the tutelage of Nicholas Mann, honing her craft further. Bihan Li continues to inspire as a performer and educator, embodying the spirit of classical music excellence.
