Premiered by Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, August 19, 2021.
Flute: Christian Paquette
Clarinet: Amer Hasan
Violin: Nathan Lowry
Cello: Otávio Manzano Kavakama
Piano: Derek Wang
Percussion: Colin McCall
Conducted by Tim Weiss

Migration is a concerto for chamber ensemble. It draws excerpts from the “World Map Concerti” series, which is a collection of five mini-concertos for quintet, which takes listeners on a journey around the world, opening their ears to music’s evolution as an international unifier. Song of Matilda brings listeners to Australia with a thematic interpretation of the classic bush ballad, “Waltzing Matilda.” The European leg of the journey is represented by the song of Lindembaum, a nostalgic piece inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, The Dryad. Song of Peace is inspired by Korean culture and traditional music, drawing its name from the inter-Korean Peace House. There is also a touch of surrealism with a pianistic depiction of a wintry weather in subtropical Canton, in the fast passage featuring the piano.

Migration

Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra, August 14th, 2021.
Conducted by Oscar Jockel.

The Last Hive Mind for orchestra

Shorter grade 4 version of The Last Hive Mind. Recording by Glen Adsit and the Hartt Wind Ensemble. Purchase score and parts here:

https://www.shuyingli.com/product-page/the-last-hive-mind-grade-4-2021

The Last Hive Mind Grade 4 Version

Music by Shuying Li
Libretto by Julian Crouch
Commissioned by Shanghai Conservatory of Music

Yvette Keong, Iris Chang
Hidenori Inoue, Shiro Azuma

S: Andrea Bickford, Tabatha Hogan, McKenzie Rybka
A: Kendra Brislawn, Ruby Gibford, Rachel Steinke
T: Robert Waltenbaugh
B: James Heer, Fengyue Zhang

Glen Adsit, conductor
Four Corners Ensemble:
Erika Boysen, flute
Joshua Anderson, clarinet
Christina Adams, violin
Allan Hon, cello
Mi-Eun Kim, piano
Paul Raymond, percussion

Operation Opera Festival, Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, Gonzaga University, June 10th, 2022

The development of When the Purple Mountains Burn received funding from OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Female Composers program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

When the Purple Mountains Burn Scene 14 - 15

Premiered by Alarm Will Sound at 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival
"Sweeping and Weeping" was written in April 2020, when the pandemic hit and everything was canceled, postponed, or shut down. In an effort to find something positive, I initially thought of “sweeping” as a representation of the virus storm that took over our lives in the most unexpected ways. “Weeping” represents my reaction to the devastating loss that so many experienced. Like most of my pieces, "Sweeping and Weeping" began from these initial impressions, but the music itself navigated a way out with its own logic. The work explores rhythmic drive, lyrical tension, and release, with different timbres and colors. The music alternates between fast and slow passages that ultimately mingle into one.

Sweeping And Weeping

Premiered by Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble
James Minnix, conductor
May 1, 2022

Stacking

Commissioned and premiered by Women's Wind Ensemble at University of North Carolina, Greensboro, October 28, 2021. In tribute to Rosa Parks (1913-2005).

Tim Hagen, flute
Mary Ashley Barret, oboe 
Kelly Burke, clarinet
Ab Pack, horn 
Rebecca Libera, bassoon

Back of the Bus

For solo bassoon
Commissioned and premiered by Marissa Olegario

After Rain

Winner of the 2014 ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prize.
Performed by the CCM Wind Orchestra, November 14, 2014. Conductor: Glenn Price.

Slippery Slope Mvmt III

Slippery Slope Mvmt II (main mvmt)

Slippery Slope Mvmt I

For solo cello
    Duration: 4 minutes
    Written for Kevin Hekmatpanah and Gonzaga Dance Program

    Program notes:
      Unsettled Hope is a gripping musical exploration of conflict and resolution, symbolizing the battle between struggle and hope. The rhythmic patterns, evocative of struggle, engage in a duel with a lyrical theme representing hope, creating a tension that ultimately finds resolution. Performed by Kevin Hekmatpanah and choreographed by Noelle Price, the made its debut at the Gonzaga Law School’s Human Rights Conference, underscoring the global importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. The performance took place in Gonzaga's Florence campus in Italy.

Unsettled Hope

For violin, clarinet, harp, and percussion
Duration: 10 minutes
Commissioned by Yvonne Lam for Michigan State University Lunar New Year Concert Series

Program notes:

    Awakening Dragon paints a vivid picture of a mythical dragon awakening from its slumber to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Commissioned by violinist Yvonne Lam for Michigan State University's Lunar New Year Concert Series, the composition brings to life the ancient dance of the dragon. It starts with soft rhythms, depicting the dragon's gentle awakening, and progresses to lively melodies, illustrating its joyful dance in the sky. The piece concludes with a resounding roar, symbolizing the dragon's powerful presence and heralding the start of a hopeful and prosperous year.

Awakening Dragon

Premiered by the University of Michigan USO, 2/8/2015; Conducotr: Kevin Fitzgerald.
Following performance by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, 7/16/2015; Conductor: JoAnn Falletta.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Order score and parts: https://www.shuyingli.com/product-page/starry-ocean

University of Maryland Wind Orchestra
Michael Votta, conductor
The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland
College Park, MD
May 9, 2025

Starry Ocean is a musical journey that takes listeners deep into the depths of the ocean, capturing the alluring spectacle of marine life as it mirrors the mystical allure of a star-filled sky. The narrative in the music seeks to depict the enchanting undersea landscape that resembles Van Gogh's "Starry Night." The piece begins with a tranquil, serene depiction of the undersea world, gradually building in complexity as the marine life becomes more active and vibrant. The music reflects this flurry of activity within this undersea cosmos, creating a soundscape that is as intriguing as the bioluminescent creatures in the deep ocean.
  Starry Ocean is a celebration of the beauty and mystery of our oceans, presented through the lens of a grade 3+ wind ensemble.

Starry Ocean

University of Maryland Wind Orchestra
Michael Votta, conductor
Shuying Li, piano
The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland
College Park, MD
May 9, 2025

In This Breath

Commissioned and premiered by Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, May 15, 2022.

Nijioma Grevious, violin
Suliman Tekalli, violin
Celia Hatton, viola
James Wilson, cello
David Lemelin, clarinet
Kevin Newton, horn
Thomas Schneider, bassoon
Andrew Sommer, bass

Eight Immortals and the Sea draws inspiration from the Chinese Taoism mythology. The Eight Immortals are considered to be signs of prosperity and longevity, so they are popular themes in ancient and medieval art. Among the literature on the subject, one of the work made during the Ming Dynasty (c. 14th–15th centuries) is called The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea. It is about the Immortals on their way to attend the Conference of the Magical Peach when they encounter an ocean. Instead of relying on their clouds to get them across, Lü Dongbin suggested that they each should exercise their unique powers to get across. Derived from this, the Chinese proverb “The Eight Immortals cross the sea, each reveals its divine powers” indicates the situation that everybody shows off their skills and expertise to achieve a common goal.

In the composition, the eight players who each musically represent one of the legendary Immortals depict a more abstract and loose-structured picture of the story. The music takes over its own logic beyond the inspiration and focuses on the collaborative and dramatic elements represented in the story. It also treats the “sea” as an equally important aspect to present the relationship between individual Immortals (each musician) and the Sea (composite sound world contributed by the entire ensemble).

Eight Immortals and the Sea

Fixed media featuring Erzhan Xu, Xiao (Chinese bamboo flute)

Weeping Bamboo

Absolution

Reasoning the Chaos

Feeding the Spiral

Fixed media by Shuying Li based on materials Erzhan Xu being recorded with Xiao, dizi, and xun;
Live flute recording by Noniko Hsu;
Mixed by Shuying Li.

Weeping Bamboo (Mixed)

Conducted by Glen Adsit
Hartt Foot in the Door Ensemble
2019 CBDNA National Convention
Gammage Auditorium, Arizona State University
February 22, 2019

“The Last Hive Mind” was written for conductor Glen Adsit and the Foot in the Door Ensemble at the Hartt School. Inspired by several episodes of the British TV series, “Black Mirror,” and the general idea of recent increasing debate around the artificial intelligence and how it will affect our daily lives as human being, I put some of my personal thoughts, perspectives, and imagination into this work. Thanks to Glen who came up with this very dynamic and matching title during the preliminary stage of creating of it — the title also helped in the shaping of how the musical narrative is navigating its own way throughout.
Specifically, I was struck by the idea in one episode of “Black Mirror,” the “Metalhead.” After the unexplained collapse of human society, a group of people tried to flee from the robotic “dogs,” a huge hive mind with metal built bodies and powerful computerized “brains.” The failure is almost predictable, but one detail that struck me the most was that the whole reason these a few human beings got trapped in the crazy chasing by the robotic dogs, was because of their effort of searching a comforting gift for a very sick child — and the gift is just a fluffy teddy bear. In “The Last Hive Mind,” there are two forces fighting with each other — the robotic, rhythmic, seemingly unbreakable “hive mind” music, versus the dreamy, melodic, and warm “lullaby” tune. Lastly presented by the piano, the “lullaby” music is also a quote from my mini piano concerto, “Canton Snowstorm.” As the title indicates, this work depicts the struggle between the artificial intelligence, or the hive mind, and the dimming humanity; furthermore, the work implies the final collapse and breakdown of the last hive mind followed by its triumph.

The Last Hive Mind

Praised as “a real talent” (The Seattle Times) with “vivid, dramatic” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “enjoyable” (Gramophone Magazine) scores, and “an incredible span of compositional tool box” (American Record Guide), composer Shuying Li’s music have been performed by Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Ningbo Symphony Orchestra (China), Alarm Will Sound, Orkest de ereprijs (Netherlands), Avanti! Chamber Orchestra (Finland), ICon Arts Ensemble (Romania), Cecilia Quartet (Canada), 15.19. Ensemble (Italy), Ascanio Quartet (Italy), Atlas Ensemble (Netherlands), among others. Shuying holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the Hartt School. A passionate educator, Shuying has taught and directed the Composition/Music Theory Program at Gonzaga University. She joined the faculty as the Assistant Professor of Music at California State University, Sacramento, in Fall 2022. For more information, please visit http://www.shuyingli.com.

Shuying Li

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