XinqianMusic

Xinqian Li, a guitarist and composer, is a lifetime member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the American music honor society. Residing in Los Angeles, she is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Studio Guitar at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Her musical style is deeply influenced by traditional jazz, and she consistently strives to develop her distinctive sound. Xinqian composes diverse traditional and contemporary jazz pieces for large ensembles.

Before delving into jazz guitar, Xinqian dedicated many years to studying fingerstyle guitar and has received numerous awards in various competitions. In 2018, she was invited to perform at the Big Apple Music Festival at Queens College in New York. In 2019, she performed with the Jazz Big Band in Zhuhai, China, sharing the stage with numerous musicians from China’s jazz community.

In 2021, Xinqian was invited to form a swing septet with professors from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, which regularly performs at the Chengdu Riverside and Oak Nose Jazz Club. She also participated in the China Swing Music Festival that same year. Concurrently, she released four singles on NetEase Cloud Music, formed her trio, and began touring southwest China.

From 2021 to 2023, she was awarded the USC Thornton Music Scholarship for two consecutive years. In 2023, she received a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music Summer Program and performed with the Berklee Jazz Big Band in Boston. That same year, she won gold medals at the Universal Stars and Global International Music Competitions. She was also invited to play in the musical "Hit The Wall," directed by Gregg T. Daniel and Chevaughan Dyer.

In 2024, Xinqian joined the Jazz Big Band led by Dr. David Moyer and the rock blues trio VEX led by German drummer Vera Carter. She also led her own jazz quintet featuring her compositions. In the same year, she was invited to perform in the renowned musical "Tick, Tick...Boom!" created by Jonathan Larson. Actively performing at various venues in LA, she has participated in a wide range of bands and projects, including rock, musical, jazz, pop, classical, and Irish music.

Xinqian has studied under notable musicians such as Bruce Forman, Tim Kobza, Richard Smith, Molly Miller, Josh Nelson, and Bob Mintzer.