Originally from Guangdong, China, pianist Huan Li finds endless fascination in the art of music-making. Captivated by the sound of a neighbor’s piano at the age of four, she set about convincing her engineer parents to let her begin lessons—a determination that would eventually take her to stages around the world.
Praised for her “stunning pianism [and] mesmerizing execution [that] lit up the stage” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer), Huan has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, with appearances in Austria, China, France, Switzerland, and the United States. Her performances have taken her to venues including Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Jordan Hall in Boston, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and Solitär at the Mozarteum University Salzburg. She has been featured multiple times on WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase and NPR’s From the Top, and has appeared as soloist with members of the Juilliard Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists, collaborating with conductors including Andrew Sill and Lavard Skou-Larsen.
In 2026, Huan received Third Prize and the Audience Award at the inaugural Murdock International Piano Competition. Her other competition distinctions include the Gina Bachauer Piano Competition at The Juilliard School, the Kosciuszko Foundation’s Chopin Piano Competition, the PianoArts North American Piano Competition, the Rosalyn Tureck Bach International Competition, and the inaugural Zhuhai International Mozart Competition.
Chamber music has been a rewarding part of Huan’s musical life. Her summers at Kneisel Hall immersed her in the chamber repertoire, from intimate duos to larger ensembles, and she has continued to collaborate with fellow musicians in recitals and performances. Her collaborative experiences have also taken her into a variety of musical settings, from the interlocking textures of Steve Reich’s Six Pianos to the richly imaginative sound world of George Crumb’s Music for a Summer Evening (Makrokosmos III)—experiences that have called for different ways of listening, responding, and shaping music with others.
Huan holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at New England Conservatory. Her teachers and mentors include Wha Kyung Byun, Hung-Kuan Chen, Choong Mo Kang, Alexander Korsantia, Jin Lai, Robert McDonald, Yonghi Moon, and Wu Yuan.
