Valerie Li

Valerie Li

Valerie Li, first violinist of the Afiara Quartet since its founding, has enjoyed performing at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center, Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, and touring across North America, Europe, Brazil, Mexico, and China. In 2008, the quartet won the Concert Artists Guild International Competition as well as a top prize at the Munich ARD International Music Competition, and in 2010 won the Young Canadian Musicians Award and top prizes at the Banff International String Quartet Competition.

Ms. Li received her Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Conservatory, where she won the Marbury Prize and the Hulsteyn Award, and her Master of Music from the New England Conservatory. Her primary teachers include Miriam Fried, Herbert Greenberg, and Gwen Thompson, with whom she studied in her hometown of Vancouver. During her studies, Ms. Li was a fellow at Tanglewood Music Center and Aspen Music Festival, performed at Taos School of Music, served as Concertmaster of the New England Conservatory Philharmonia and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, and performed with the Baltimore Symphony.

During the Afiara Quartet’s residencies at San Francisco State University with the Alexander Quartet and at The Juilliard School with the Juilliard Quartet, Ms. Li has had the opportunity to pursue her passion for teaching and coaching. Further opportunities have arisen though Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music, Indiana University Summer String Academy, University of Alberta, and the Orkester Efterskolen in Holstebro, Denmark, as well as numerous outreach and educational activities. Ms. Li is dedicated to making the world of string quartets accessible and relevant to all, including her nephew, whom she shares with Afiara cellist Adrian Fung. His sister is married to Ms. Li’s brother.

https://afiara.com

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