Astonishing in her musical versatility, violinist Qing Li brings warmth, poise, and profound insight to every performance. Praised for “the highest level of musicality” and “unsurpassed technical brilliance,” Ms. Li is Principal Violinist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Professor of Violin at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. She is a frequently featured soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras throughout the United States and Asia.

A Piatigorsky Foundation Artist, Ms. Li is a highly sought-after recitalist, chamber musician, and guest concertmaster, having led performances of the Detroit, Iceland, and Singapore Symphonies, among many others. She is also a member of the three-time Emmy Award–winning All-Star Orchestra on PBS. Her performances and recordings have been featured internationally across leading broadcast and digital media platforms, including Voice of America.

In 2024, Ms. Li served as principal soloist and curator of the Richmond Symphony’s StradFest Gala, a landmark event featuring Maestro Itzhak Perlman alongside exceptional rising soloists from across North America. Under the direction of RSO Music Director Valentina Peleggi, the Gala celebrated nine extraordinary instruments by Antonio Stradivari in a rare and distinguished showcase.

A celebrated teacher and mentor, Ms. Li inspires the next generation of musicians through masterclasses and performances at leading festivals across the United States, Asia, Europe, and South America. She serves on the faculty of the Beijing International Music Festival Academy and the National Orchestral Institute + Festival in College Park, Maryland, under the direction of Marin Alsop. Since the inaugural season of the National Youth Orchestra of China at Carnegie Hall in 2017, she has shaped young artists as violin faculty and curator, nurturing talent with insight, warmth, and artistry.

Born in Beijing, China, Ms. Li began studying the violin at age four with her father. At 12, she was accepted into the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Following her prize-winning performance of the Sibelius Concerto at the First Beijing International Violin Competition, she was discovered by the legendary Berl Senofsky and subsequently admitted to the Peabody Conservatory of Music on full scholarship. She later continued her studies with Joseph Gingold in Bloomington, Indiana, and has also been mentored by Pinchas Zukerman, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Herbert Greenberg.

Ms. Li performs on a 1736 Neapolitan violin by Nicolo Gagliano, its voice shaped by an 1845 Parisian bow by Dominique Peccatte.