Bo Li
Musician Spotlight by Jacob Jahiel
Bo Li
CELLO
When the BSO held its first Lunar New Year Celebration in January 2023 , BSO cellist Bo Li had high hopes . As the event ’ s Artistic Advisor , he had been involved in months of planning , and was relieved to find a long line out the door . “ We knew it was going to be a great night .”
“ I ’ ve been a member of the BSO for 23 years ,” Li says , “ and I love being on stage . But as I get older , what interests me most is creating opportunities for future artists and developing new audiences .” That ’ s why he has spent countless hours in recent years building bridges between the Orchestra and Asian-American audiences in the DMV area , serving as both Artistic Advisor for the now-annual Lunar New Year Celebration , which expands to The Music Center at Strathmore this season , as well as the BSO ’ s AAPI Program Advisor .
In 2023 , Li was amazed how far people traveled for the Lunar New Year Celebrations , and how many new audience members he saw . The equally successful second year welcomed even more first-time concertgoers , but also “ a lot of familiar faces who were curious about what was going on .” Bringing the Lunar New Year program to Strathmore , Li says “ it means bringing in even more listeners from Montgomery County . I really see this concert having a long future .”
Celebrate Lunar New Year with the BSO January 22 at the Meyerhoff and January 28 at Strathmore .
For Li , there is a larger mission behind these efforts , one aimed at encouraging crosscultural awareness . “ I was born in China , and I ’ m an American citizen . Whether I ’ m at home with the BSO , or teaching as a visiting professor in China , my goal is to build greater awareness . Sometimes we don ’ t hear enough about what ’ s happening on the other side of the world . To me , part of Lunar New Year is about introducing different cultures to each other . I think that ’ s why it has been so successful — people are curious to learn more .”
Bo Li is generously sponsored for the 2024 – 25 season by Bill and Kathleen Pence
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