Yichen Li, countertenor, serves on the voice faculty at the Unviersity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois at Springfield. As a diverse musician who has won numerous awards as a countertenor, pianist, and piano accompanist, Yichen Li has recently appeared in leading roles such as Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Nerone in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, and Nero-Caligula in Ilya Demutsky's Black Square with Lyric Theatre at Illinois. Past performances also include Purcell's King Arthur, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Yang Ming’s Sister Jiang. Additionally, Yichen Li has performed as a soloist with Estampe Piano Trio, Sinfonia da Camera Chamber Orchestra and Concerto Urbano Baroque Ensemble. In March 2018, Yichen Li presented his doctoral thesis Gao Weijie’s Three Love Songs: A Guide for the Countertenor and the Nan Dan at his lecture recital.
In addition to Yichen Li’s career as a vocalist, he has earned many achievements as a pianist. Highlights of Yichen Li’s piano accomplishments include 1stplace in solo piano and 1st place in piano accompanying at the 5th Jiangsu Collegiate Music Competition. Yichen Li has also worked as a collaborative pianist at the Conservatory of Central Illinois and as a student accompanist at the Illinois State University. Yichen Li earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education (piano concentration) from Nanjing Normal University where he served as a teaching assistant in piano, voice, and music theory. He received a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Illinois State University and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His primary teachers include Professor Wang Bing, Professor Liu Yixin, Professor Тадияна Ивановна, Dr. Daniel Schuetz, Dr. Ollie Watts Davis, and Dr. Charlotte Mattax Moersch. |
