Bo Li, Cello

photo by Christian Colberg

2010-2011
Chamber Music Performances:

March 27, 2011
April 17, 2011

Born to a musical family in China, Bo Li immigrated to the US in 1991 after attending Shanghai Conservatory of Music.  He finished his Bachelor of Music degree at Illinois State University where he studied with Ko Iwasaki, and earned his Master’s Degree from the New England Conservatory with Laurence Lesser and Colin Carr.

Among the many awards he has received, Bo Li was a prize winner at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in 1990. He also won top prizes at the National Cello Competition in China, the Laurence Lesser Presidential Award and the Concerto Competition at New England Conservatory, the Presser Award by the Presser Foundation, and fellowships with the Montgomery Symphony and the Aspen Festival.

Bo Li made his solo debut with the Shanghai Symphony at age 17.  Since then he has frequently soloed with many other ensembles including the Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra, Southern Illinois Symphony, Acadiana Symphony in Louisiana, South Arkansas Symphony, Riverside Symphonia in New Jersey and Montgomery Symphony in Alabama. His concerto performance with New England Conservatory Symphony was broadcast nationwide by National Public Radio.  In June 2007 he performed the Tchaikovsky “Rococo Variations” with BSO both at the Meyerhoff in Baltimore and the Strathmore in D.C.

An active chamber musician, he has collaborated with Pamela Frank and Jon Kimura Parker as well as members from different groups such as Muir and Shanghai Quartets.  Deeply involved with teaching, Bo Li has taught at the American String Teacher Association String Festival, the International Music Festival and School in Bogotá (Colombia), Huntingdon College in Montgomery (Alabama), Loyola College in Baltimore and the University of Delaware.  He has given master classes at many universities including Pennsylvania State University and Louisiana State University. 

Before joining the Baltimore Symphony, Bo Li played in a number of ensembles, most notably the Atlanta Symphony, Metamorphosen Chamber Ensemble and was principal cellist of the New York String Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. He has made several recordings, including a solo CD released by Tian-Tian in Beijing and chamber music CDs by Hugo in Hong Kong and Meyer Media in the US.