Music has been integral to Hang Li’s identity since she was born, and she views it as her calling to share its gifts with the next generation. Raised by a family of pianists in China, Ms. Li grew up surrounded by the sounds of etudes and sonatas. In this rigorous environment, her natural passion for music flourished, and it wasn’t long before she made her solo recital debut at Tianjin Concert Hall as a ten-year-old pianist. 

Further triumphs of early achievement soon followed. Ms. Li graduated at the age of just twenty from China’s Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and shortly thereafter became the school’s youngest faculty member. She delivered the Chinese premiere of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in 1997. The Chinese Musician’s Association appointed Ms. Li the youngest member of its judging committee, and her extensive adjudicating expertise is still sought frequently in international competitions today. Ms. Li has performed as a soloist in renowned concert halls throughout Europe, China, and America, as well as at The Joaquín Achúcarro Foundation, where she is honored to serve as a Legacy Pianist. Her playing style has earned critical praise as “truly poetic and exhilarating,” evincing an “exquisite and sensitive touch.”

Hang Li brings over twenty five years of teaching excellence to the SFCM, where she has served on the Pre-College faculty since 2009. In addition to providing intermediate and advanced piano lessons to individuals and chamber ensembles at SFCM, she delights in leading studio classes, master classes, and seminars each semester. Her pedagogy emphasizes technical precision, artistic expression, and a thorough understanding of classical musical traditions. Ms. Li’s belief in music as a global language also inspired her to found an international music exchange program, now active for fifteen years, that empowers young Chinese and American musicians to study piano overseas. 

Ms. Li’s greatest pride is her students, her devoted instruction and mentorship have helped her students gain acceptances to the nation’s foremost institutions of continuing music education: the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, the New England Conservatory, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Columbia, and Cornell Universities. Her pupils also regularly place in leading piano competitions such as ​​the Van Cliburn Junior Competition and Hilton Head International Competition, and have won scholarships to music festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, Morningside Music Bridge, Bowdoin International Festival, and Music@Menlo. 

Hang Li earned her Bachelor of Arts from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing; her Artist’s Certificate from Southern Methodist University in Dallas; her Master of Music from the SFCM; and her Artist Diploma from Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. For more information, please visit www.hanglipiano.com.