Curtis appoints new viola performance faculty member

Read more news stories here 

Curtis Institute of Music has announced the appointment of violist and alumna Teng Li to its performance faculty, effective in the 2026-27 year.

Li’s appointment coincides with the departure of long-time viola performance faculty members, Misha Amory and Hsin-Yun Huang, who joined Curtis in 2006 and 2011 respectively. Amory and Huang will focus on teaching and performing commitments closer to New York City, and will conclude their positions at Curtis following the end of the 2025-26 year.

At Curtis, Li will teach alongside violists Roberto Díaz, Curtis’s president and CEO, and Ed Gazouleas, director of the Tanglewood Music Center.

Li is the principal viola of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a founding member of the Rosamunde Quartet, which joined the Curtis Artist Management roster in 2024. She was previously principal viola of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and served for 14 seasons as principal viola of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

As an educator, she has taught at the Colburn School, Roosevelt University, University of Toronto, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and Montreal’s Conservatoire de Musique.

She is a graduate of the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China, and the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Michael Tree, Joseph de Pasquale and Karen Tuttle.

’I’m incredibly honoured to return to my alma mater in this new capacity,’ said Li in a statement. ’As a student, my time at Curtis was life-changing. My teachers gifted me unwavering support and enthusiasm and encouraged me to become the best musician I could be.

’After many years of performing and learning from some of the most inspiring musicians of our time, I’m ready to share my experiences with this next generation, and endeavour to provide the same level of support and guidance I once received.’

Díaz commented on the faculty’s change of personnel: ’I am deeply grateful to Misha and Hsin-Yun for their combined years of service to Curtis, expertly guiding our student violists on their musical journeys, and I wish them all the very best.

’And I am thrilled to welcome Teng Li to our faculty. I look forward to working with her in this capacity. I know that our students will be in wonderful hands.’