Vivian Li 李穗荣
Born into a family of artists, Chinese-Canadian pianist Dr. Vivian Sui-Rong Li began her career at the age of five with her debut at Guangzhou’s Friendship Opera House and has gone on to steadily build a career as one of China’s most respected young musicians. She currently serves as Associate Professor of Piano at Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, China.
Dr. Li began her studies at the age of four under the tutelage of her father, renowned Chinese pianist Qi Li and supervision of her mother, renowned Chinese classical ballerina Xianping Su. After a period of study at Xinghai Conservatory’s Affiliated Middle School, Dr. Li immigrated to Toronto, Canada where she completed high school and her Artist Diploma from Canada’s Royal Conservatory of Music. Following this, she was accepted with full scholarship to Oberlin Conservatory where she did her undergraduate studies with the esteemed French pianist, Monique Duphil, herself a student of Marguerite Long. Upon graduation, she was awarded Oberlin’s prestigious William R. Abate Outstanding Pianist Award given to the finest pianist of each graduating class. She proceeded to finish her studies with Master and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the University of Houston under the guidance of Horacio Gutierrez and Nancy Weems. During her school years, Vivian distinguished herself in numerous competitions including prizes in Canada’s CMC International Stepping Stone Competition, the Grace Welsh International Piano Competition and San Antonio International Competition and in concerts including one performance of Ravel’s G major piano concerto which left the revered pianist Abbey Simon exclaiming, “She played like my friends of the old generation past.”
In 2005, Dr. Li returned to her childhood home of Guangzhou to join the piano faculty of Xinghai Conservatory. Her students routinely go on to study in major conservatories across the world and take top prizes in important competitions nationwide and abroad. In the past few years, Vivian’s students have distinguished themselves in major international competition such as Hamamatsu, Cleveland and Cliburn Junior while taking top prizes at Gina Bachauer, e-Piano Junior, Beijing Chopin, Zhuhai Mozart, Ettlingen, Sendai and Aarhus. Most recently in October 2021, Vivian’s longtime student, the 17 years old Hao Rao became the only Chinese pianist among the finalists of the 18th Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, gaining international acknowledgement.
Dr. Li maintains an active concert schedule of solo, chamber and concerto performances both in China and abroad. She is also regular guest faculty at Italy’s Maccagno Piano Days Festival and Todi Music Masters Piano Festival, Beijing Central Conservatory International Chamber Music Festival, Oberlin Piano Festival, Germany’s Gegen den Strom Piano Academy and Malta Classic Music Academy.
Jay Sun 孙鹏杰
Born in Taiwan, raised and educated in the United States, and based in China for the past two decades, Jay Pengjie Sun is a pianist whose work bridges cultures with intellectual clarity and artistic vision. China’s Music Weekly observed that “one can see how this pianist approaches artistry from a higher perspective and broader vision,” while Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung praised his “clear analytical thinking and structured musical logic,” qualities that define both his musicianship and pedagogy.
He is widely recognized as one of the pillars of the Chinese musical community, and his students have earned distinction at major international competitions including Chopin, Cliburn, Busoni, Cleveland, Weimar–Liszt, Geneva, Michelangeli, Sydney, Paderewski, Sendai, Hilton Head, and more — many before the age of eighteen. He is particularly known for guiding students from foundational training to the professional stage, as evidenced by his PRIMO Piano Method, published in 2021 and now adopted by tens of thousands of students across China, which reflects his belief that expressiveness and knowledge must develop in parallel from the outset.
Since joining the faculty of the Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou in 2005, Sun has become a sought-after pianist and pedagogue, appearing in recital and chamber concerts throughout China’s principal cultural centers. His national tour of Liszt’s Complete Transcendental Études was described by Music Weekly as “a ferocious yet poetically delicate execution of a marvelously stunning feat,” reflecting his command of a repertoire centered on the Austro-German and Romantic traditions. An avid chamber musician, he has collaborated with Agata Szymczewska, Atar Arad, Clara Kim, Liu Xiao, Ma Kaiyi, Nikki Chooi, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Tian Bonian, Timothy Chooi, Xin Yi, Xin Xin, Yao Shanshan, Yu Wei, Zhu Mu, and Zvi Plesser, in addition to frequent piano duo performances with his wife, pianist Vivian Li.
In addition to his performing and teaching, Sun is a devoted writer, contributing regular columns to Music Weekly and Piano Artistry, where he explores topics ranging from mus. His principal teachers include Nancy Weems, John Weems, and Horacio Gutiérrez, and he credits his summers at the Aspen Music Festival with Ann Schein as formative influences. He holds degrees in music and computer science from the University of Houston.
He currently serves as Professor of Piano at the Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou, co-chair of the piano departments at its Middle School and International College, and Piano Advisor to the Morningside Music Bridge program. He is also regular guest faculty at Morningside Music Bridge Festival, Todi Music Masters, Perugia Musicfest, and the Philadelphia Young Pianists Academy.