Teng Li, viola

Teng Li made a splash when she hit the Toronto music scene in 2004 by landing the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) Principal Viola position at the astonishing age of 21. TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian describes her as “an extraordinary talent”. Highlight performance repertoire include Takemitsu’s A String Around Autumn, Bartok’s Viola Concerto, Berlioz’s Harold in Italy, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, and Strauss’ Don Quixote.

An active recitalist, Teng has performed recitals in Toronto, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington DC, and New York. Along with her TSO solo appearances, Ms Li has performed with the National Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Haddonfield Symphony, Shanghai Opera Orchestra, and the Canadian Sinfonietta. Her performances have been broadcast on CBC Radio 2, National Public Radio, WQXR (New York), WHYY (Pennsylvania), WFMT (Chicago), and Bavarian Radio (Munich).

An accomplished chamber musician, Teng has participated in the festivals of Marlboro, Santa Fe, Mostly Mozart, Music from Angel Fire, Rome, Moritzburg (Germany) and the Rising Stars Festival in Caramoor. She has performed with the Guarneri Quartet in New York (04/05), at Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall) and with the 92nd St. “Y” Chamber Music Society. Teng was featured with the Guarneri Quartet in their last season (2009), and was also a member of the prestigious Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two Program.

A recipient of numerous awards, Ms Li has won top Prizes at the Johanson International and the Holland-America Music Society competitions, the Primrose International Viola Competition, the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Germany. She was also a winner of the Astral Artistic Services 2003 National Auditions.
Teng began the violin at age 5 in her native China. She entered the Central Conservatory in Beijing in 1992, and at age 16 was accepted to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where her teachers were Michael Tree and Joseph DePasquale. Teng currently serves on the faculties of the University of Toronto and the Conservatoire de Musique de Montreal.