Tien L  
Instruments: Violin, Cello, Viola, Double Bass
Styles: Classical

Studied with world renowned distinguished professor Janos Starker and received Master of Music degree in 1984 from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana. I was a member of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and a doctoral candidate at the University of Memphis. I worked with South Dakota Symphony, Tupelo Symphony and North Carolina Symphony. I become assistant principal cellist in the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra in 1987 and I joined faculty member at the University of Mississippi in 1988. I was assistant principal cellist of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra for 15 years from 1987 to 2002. And I was an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Mississippi in Oxford from 1988 and 1998. After 1998, I teach cello at the prestigious Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. I nwas also the Music Director and Conductor of the Mississippi Youth Symphony Orchestra for 9 years. During that time, he led the youth group on inaugural overseas concert tours to stages in Europe and China, reaching their highest level and largest audiences to the date. Mr. Li directed the musical “The Wiz “at the Tugaloo’s college of Mississippi and directed the Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet at Madison Cultural Center in Mississippi. Since he moved to California in 2002, I focused on music education; he was director of Waltrip’s Yamaha Music School, and later a director of the music program and a faculty member at the Arroyo Pacific Academy. In recent years, I have organized and conducted student string ensembles and school choirs to perform for different local venues, including school events, senior community centers, and Christmas concerts or other holiday occasions. Currently, Mr. Li teaches string instruments at the Yamaha Music School in Cerritos, California, and maintains his private music studio in Murrieta, California. I also was very active in chamber music performance. I was a founding member of the University Faculty Chamber Music Ensemble, the Oxford Piano Trio, as well as the baroque music trio, Heineken’s Circle. As a principal and an assistant principal cellist, I have performed with many different symphonies as a cello soloist. I was a featured soloist at the First World Violoncello Congress in Washington, D.C in 1988 and in a featured faculty trio for the World College Chamber Music Conference in Berlin in 1995. Two of my cello solo recitals were recorded and released in 1981 by Hong Kong Audio Production LTD. MAJOR PROFESSORS Janos Starker, Distinguished Professor of Cello, Indiana University School of Music Chi-wen Szeto, Professor of Cello, President of Cello Society of China Peter Spurbeck, Professor of Cello, University of Memphis TEACHING EXPERIENCE Music Faculty, Charis Conservatory (Yamaha Music School), Cerritos, CA 2003 to present Music Faculty, Arroyo Pacific Academy, Arcadia, CA 2003 to 2007 String Instructor, Mississippi Symphony Outreach Program - Jackson Public Schools, Jackson, MS, 1987-2002 Music Faculty, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS, 2000-2002 Assistant Professor of Music, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, 1988-1998 ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE Director of Music Programs, Arroyo Pacific Academy, Arcadia, CA, 2003-2007 Director, Waltrips Music School, Arcadia, CA, 2002-2003 Music Director and Conductor, Mississippi Youth Symphony Orchestra, Jackson, MS, 1993-2002 Guest Music Clinician for youth music programs in Mississippi and other Southeastern States, 1987-2002 Music Counselor, Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts, Murfreesboro, TN, 1985 ORCHESTRAL EXPERIENCE Assistant Principal Cellist, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Jackson, MS, 1987-2002 Cellist, North Carolina Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Festival, Bonne, NC 1987-1991 Principal Cellist, Meridian Symphony Orchestra, Meridian, MS, 1992-1996 Associate Principal Cellist, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Sioux Falls, SD, 1987 Principal Cellist, Germantown Symphony Orchestra, Germantown, TN, 1985-1987 Cellist, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Memphis, TN, 1984-1987 Principal Cellist, Tupelo Symphony Orchestra, Tupelo, MS, 1985 Cellist, Symphony Orchestra of National Ballet Theater, Beijing, China, 1968-1980

I am teaching the students by wide range from beginners to most advanced. I use Suzuki method combined with traditional teaching materials and traditional teaching methods for advanced students. For younger students, I mainly use Suzuki teaching method, combined with etudes, like Alwin Schroeder's 170 Foundation Studies. Teaching all age group students with scales as well. For older or advanced students, I teach mainly with traditional method, etudes, like Dotzauer, Franchomme, Merk, Kummer, Gruetzmacher, Piatti and Popper etc.