About Li Chuanyun

Babeli (Chuanyun Li) began his violin studies at the age of three under the guidance of his parents and won the first prize at Beijing Youth and Junior Violin Competition at the age of only five.

After settling in Hong Kong with his family in 1986, he joined the Yip Children's Choral and Performing Arts Center, of which he became an active member, participating in their annual concert tours. Through a sponsorship by a music enthusiast, Mr. Li was awarded a scholarship by the Violin Special Training Award Program. Under the auspices of the Yip Children's Choral and Performing Arts Center, he was sent to Beijing to continue his studies under world-renowned professor Yaoji Lin.

In 1991, at age 11, by the unanimous vote of 20 judges from 11 countries,he won the first prize in the Fifth Wieniawski International Youth Violin Competition, making him the youngest prizewinner among 43 competitors in the group of aged-16 or under.

In August 1993 he made his debut at the Hong Kong Cultural Center performing Paganini's 24 Caprices, which he later recorded on his first CD.
In 1998, Mr. Li won the Nakamichi Violin Concerto Competition held in Aspen, Colorado.

Through the generosity of a society dedicated to the discovery and support of extraordinarily gifted international emerging musicians, Mr. Li was awarded the Salon De Virtuosi Fellowship Grant in 1999.

Mr. Li studied under Ms. Dorothy DeLay and Professor Kurt Sassmannshaus at the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music in 1999 and 2000.
The Hong Kong Sinfonietta performed in Paris, France with Babeli(Chuanyun Li) as their solo violinist, representing China's best young musicians in July 2001.

In the summer of2002, Mr. Li recorded the music soundtrack for the motion picture "Together", directed by China's most renowned director, Kaige Chen. Mr. Li also made a cameo appearance in the movie.