Tongyao Li is a Chinese pianist and opera coach who will serve as music director and pianist for all education performances, as well as music staff and pianist for Lucia di Lammermoor and Die Fledermaus in Pensacola Opera 2023-24 season. She will join the 2023 Songfest Program and Opera Coaching Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and School this summer.

Ms. Li has performed on stages throughout China and US, including Carnegie Hall, Harris Hall and Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Music Hall, and Shanghai Concert Hall. Additionally, she was a vocal coach while studying at the Manhattan School of Music, and held the position of opera coaching fellowship in the Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS of Aspen Music Festival in 2022.  

In addition, Ms. Li has worked with some of today’s finest artists like Andy Einhorn, Hartmut Höll, Chìa Patiño, and she played masterclasses of Anthony Roth Costanzo, Isabel Leonard, Rachelle Fleming, Renée Fleming, Rod Gilfry, and Thomas Hampson. Tongyao Li studied piano performance at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China and collaborative piano at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City and Michigan State University. She studied with Keng Zhou, Kenneth Merrill, and Zhihua Tang.