It was 2004 when Teng Li made a splash in the Toronto music scene by landing the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Principal Viola position at the astonishing age of 21. TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian describes her as “an extraordinary talent that everyone recognizes, and the Orchestra enjoys the wonderful experience of performing with this talent both as a section leader and as soloist.” Past engagements include Takemitsu’s A String Around Autumn in March of 2009, Bartok’s Viola Concerto in February 2008, Berlioz’s Harold in Italy in November of 2006, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in May 2006, and Strauss’ Don Quixote in November of 2005.
Teng has given recitals in Toronto, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington DC, and New York. David Patrick Stearns of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted “she…played with a sparkling freshness you usually hear in your dreaMs" 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. During the 2004/2005 season, she performed with the Guarneri Quartet in New York, and has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and with the 92nd St. “Y” Chamber Music Society. Teng was featured in concert with the Guarneri Quartet in their last season at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and she is also a member of the prestigious Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two.
A recipient of numerous awards, Teng 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 at the University of Toronto and Conservatoire De Musique De Montreal.