FangFang Li

Violinist FangFang Li is an experienced performer, educator and arts administrator.  Li grew up in a musical family. She began violin studies at age 4 with her grandfather and father, and later studied with Wang ZhiLong from the Central-Conservatory of Music in Beijing.  At age 7, she made her orchestral solo debut playing the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4.  At age 14, Li was accepted to Idyllwild Arts Academy and studied under Todor Pelev. She attended the Aspen Music Festival with a fellowship in 2001, where she met her college violin teacher, Kurt Sassmannshaus.  Later that year, Li entered the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) with a full scholarship.  She was a graduate teaching assistant and earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in violin performance, respectively.    

While in school, Li directed the Sassmannshaus Tradition, a Cincinnati local string program for young children.  As the director, Li taught and organized outreach concerts for students to perform both within and outside of the program.  After graduating from CCM, Li became the Managing Director for the Starling Project Foundation.  She was also on violin and chamber music faculty for the acclaimed Starling Preparatory String Project.  Li was responsible for translating the comprehensive violin teaching website www.violinmasterclass.com into Chinese.  She continues to use her bilingual ability to assist communicating between organizations from the two countries.    

Li lives in San Diego with her family.  After teaching at the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory for many years, she is now pursing her passion as a Suzuki teacher and parent. She is currently on violin faculty at the San Diego Suzuki School of Music; she also serves as string instructor at several local high schools.