Vivian Li

Professor of Piano, Xinghai Conservatory of Music

Dr. Vivian Sui-Rong Li is a Chinese-Canadian pianist and one of China’s most respected pedagogues. Born into a family of artists, she made her concert debut at the age of five under the tutelage of her father, renowned pianist Qi Li, and the guidance of her mother, celebrated ballerina Xianping Su.

Dr. Li studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music on full scholarship with the esteemed French pianist Monique Duphil, a student of Marguerite Long, and was awarded Oberlin’s William R. Abate Outstanding Pianist Award, presented annually to the most distinguished pianist of the graduating class. She later earned her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the University of Houston, studying with Nancy Weems and Horacio Gutiérrez, and distinguished herself in competitions including the CMC Stepping Stone, Grace Welsh, and San Antonio International competitions.

Since 2006, Dr. Li has been on the faculty of the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, where her students have won major prizes at international competitions including Chopin, Cliburn, Busoni, Gina Bachauer, Cleveland, Sendai, Sydney, Aarhus, Ettlingen, Krainev, Zhuhai Mozart, and Cooper, earning wide international recognition. Among these journeys, her longtime student Hao Rao’s experience at the Chopin Competition—and their close bond as teacher and student—was beautifully captured by director Jakub Piątek in the Emmy Award–winning documentary Pianoforte.

A Steinway Artist, Dr. Li is a frequent guest faculty member at leading music festivals in China and abroad and regularly serves on juries at major international competitions, including Weimar–Bayreuth Liszt and Hastings.