bio
Praised by the New York Concert Review for having "played with astonishing maturity and flair," Dr. Er-Hsuan Li, NCTM, is a highly accomplished pianist. Through his work as a musician and teacher, Li strives to advocate for the nature of both reexploring the past and envisioning the future in classical music. A native of Taiwan, he has performed and toured across the United States, as well as in Mexico, Austria, Spain, Russia, and Taiwan, with notable performances at Carnegie Hall, the Harris Theater in Chicago, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Taiwan National Concert Hall. Li earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at the University of Colorado Boulder, a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He currently serves as Assistant Teaching Professor of Piano at Montana State University.
Prior to joining Montana State University, Li was on faculty at Pacific Lutheran University and has held appointments at the University of Colorado Boulder. In recent years, he has also taught masterclasses at institutions including Baylor University and the Festival de Perfeccionamiento Pianístico in Xalapa, Mexico, where he taught for three consecutive years.
As a sought-after collaborative pianist, Li has served as a competition staff collaborative pianist for the International Horn Competition of America and the Colorado Children’s Chorale. His major collaborative performances include tours to Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Texas. In addition, he has released albums on Spotify and Apple Music, including Nostos (Soundset Recordings) and American Sonatas from Two Millennia (Clarinet & Saxophone Classics Recordings), among other individual releases. Next summer, he will tour with saxophonist Wonki Lee to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
In recognition of his remarkable artistic contributions, Li has received several national scholarships. These awards supported the creation of the Nostos album, a performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and the world premiere of John Clay Allen’s concerto The Stone Harp with the Boulder Symphony at the Dairy Art Center. He is also a prizewinner in various competitions in the United States and Taiwan, including the Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Performance Competition and the Rondo Forma Competition.
Specializing in contemporary music, Li has premiered over twenty new works as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and ensemble keyboardist. Notable experiences include working on Boulez’s Douze Notations with Pierre-Laurent Aimard, performing Steve Reich’s City Life, Tehillim, and Clapping Music alongside Reich himself, and working with Chinese Canadian composer Alexina Louie on her well-known work Scenes From A Jade Terrace. This season, Li will premiere a newly commissioned solo piano work by Colombian American composer Fabian Beltran and release the professional recording of John Clay Allen’s piano concerto, The Stone Harp, with the Boulder Symphony and under conductor Devin Hughes.
As a researcher and scholar, Li has presented at numerous international, national, and regional conferences and institutions, including the Music Teachers National Association, the National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy, the College Music Society, and the North American Saxophone Alliance. His research topics have included: “Pierre Boulez in 100: Exploring His First Published Piano Piece, 12 Notations,” “Voice of Taiwan: Ma, Shui-Long,” “Designing the Sensory Friendly Recital,” “Hidden Voices: Exploring Piano Works by Black Women Composers in the Helen Walker-Hill Collection,” “Approaching New Music with Confidence,” and “How to work with a pianist.” In 2025, his research “Strategies for Performing Pierre Boulez’s Douze Notations” appeared in the MTNA e-Journal as a tribute to Boulez’s centennial. Additionally, Li has authored articles and recorded Jacqueline Hairston’s “Great Day” Ode and Philippa Duke Schuyler’s Rumpelstiltsken.