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Melissa Li, born in Hong Kong in 1983 and raised in Boston, started classical piano training at age 5 under the instruction of Winnie Ip at the Ip Piano School in Chinatown. At age 8, she attended the Longy School of Music in Cambridge to study violin under the instruction of Boston Pops member Clayton Hoener. In 1993, Melissa received a certificate from the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music, based in London, for passing all five grades in the Music Theory Exam. In 1994, at age 11, she was admitted to the New England Conservatory of Music to perform in its String Training Orchestra, Preparatory String Orchestra, and Youth Repertory Orchestra. In the summers of 1994 and 1995, Melissa attended the Bay State String Camp in Hanson, MA, as a violinist. In the summer of 1996, she attended the Point Counterpoint Chamber Music Camp in Dunsbury Lake, VT, as both a violist and a violinist.
From 1995-2001, Melissa joined the Boston Latin School String Ensemble and served as Concertmaster in 1998. During these years she arranged many popular pieces for the ensemble to perform, including James Horner's "Somewhere Out There", Alan Menken's "A Whole New World" and "Beauty and the Beast", and composed many other original works. At the Ip Piano School, she started taking Jazz Piano lessons and Music Composition under Jeremy Tunis, as well as Conducting under Mei-Ann Chen. From 1994-1998, Melissa has performed in the Piano School's annual Concerto Concert held at Pine Manor College and Boston University's Tsai Performance Center. All four times, she has performed as a soloist on the piano or violin, backed by a full orchestra. Finally, to show for over eight years of training, she received the certificate from the Associated Board for completing the piano practical examination for Grade 8, the highest level offered.
Melissa took a turn away from classical music when she taught herself the guitar in 1998. In the summers of 1997 and 1998, she attended the Young Writer's Workshop in Charlottesville, VA for songwriting. Since then, she mainly wrote acoustic songs in the singer-songwriter genre on the guitar and established herself in the local folk scene as an up and coming folksinger. In 2001, at the age of 18, she self-produced her debut album "MOOP!" and has sold over a hundred copies through self-distribution. Some venues include: The Brattle Theater in a benefit for the Astraea Foundation, Boston Youth Pride March, Milky Way Lounge, the Middle East Corner, Herrell's Renaissance Cafe, Emily's, Hampshire College, Boston University, Starbucks, Stuart Street Theater, WERS 88.9 Emerson College Radio Station, and more.
As a performer (2000-2001) and Assistant Director (2002) in The Theater Offesnive’s True Colors Out Youth Theater, Melissa wrote, directed and/or performed several original musical theater segments of the troupe’s shows. Currently, she is working on her next album "Motion Picture," featuring songs written from 2001-2003.
Photo credit: Anh Dao Kolbe
