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Geli Li is one of eight Resident Composers selected to participate in the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival. MICF Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound will perform Li’s composition The Smell of Sunshine at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre. The concert is free and open to the public.
Li’s music has been performed on three continents by more than 30 ensembles and orchestras, including the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Talea Ensemble, Klangforum Wien, and Hanatsu Miroir, among many others. A winner of the Henri Lazarof International Commission Prize, Li has received over 45 international awards and honors, with her work featured at more than 30 major festivals worldwide. Most recently, she has received commissions from the Henri Lazarof Living Legacy, the Museum of Contemporary Art Connecticut and Hub New Music, Ensemble United Instruments of Lucilin, Copland House’s CULTIVATE Institute, the DeGaetano Composition Institute, and the Potries Composition Residency.
Li currently serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Macalester College, where she teaches courses in music composition, music theory, and new music.
We recently chatted with her via email.
What is your musical background? When and how did you begin composing?
I am a classically trained composer, full of curiosity and enthusiasm for contemporary music. Born into a musical family in Guangzhou, China, my musical journey began when I was five years old, learning to play the piano. At the age of twelve, I entered conservatories for professional and systematic training in music composition, music theory, piano, and related disciplines. Over the past two decades, this journey has taken me across Asia, Europe, and North America.
I earned my doctoral degree in Music Composition with a concentration in electronic music from the University of Texas at Austin, where I studied with Januibe Tejera and Yevgeniy Sharlat. I also studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with Elmar Lampson, and at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing with Wenchen Qin. Furthermore, I am deeply grateful that my artistic development has been shaped by mentorship from many influential figures, including Augusta Read Thomas, Chen Qigang, and many others.
How did you hear about MICF?
I had heard about MICF for years — it’s one of the most exciting programs for composers, providing a space to share our voices and exchange ideas. I feel truly grateful to be part of it now.
Tell us about your piece that will be performed at MICF. What should we listen for?
For MICF, I composed a piece titled The Smell of Sunshine, which unfolds as a continuous journey of sound. In this work, I explore the interplay of contrapuntal layers, blended instrumental colors, and fragmented melodic gestures within a flowing, ever-evolving soundscape. The piece evokes an atmosphere where warmth, memory, poetry, and fleeting impressions gently converge. Here, sunshine is imagined as both scent and sound — lingering in the air like a soft, radiant veil of memories.
This work draws inspiration from my residency in Potríes, Spain, in May 2024. I often return in my mind to that golden courtyard light, the profound silence in which I could hear the fluttering wings of birds, and a solitary daisy blooming beside a centuries-old church — images filled with nostalgia and quiet reflection.
What does it mean for you to work with an ensemble like Alarm Will Sound?
I am very much looking forward to working with the amazing group Alarm Will Sound.
It’s so exciting to see them bring music to life with such beautiful artistry, breath, and soul — it means so much to me. I love the process of composers and performers sharing the musical journey together, transforming music from the score into sound.
What do you hope to learn from your MICF experience?
I am excited to have this opportunity to learn from the mentors, fellow composers, and the musicians of Alarm Will Sound, as well as from all the experiences we share during MICF. It will be an absolutely inspiring journey. All the music we share throughout the festival will truly nourish me as an artist. I look forward to receiving feedback, exchanging ideas, discussing and trying things out in rehearsals. I know I will learn a tremendous amount from the MICF experience. I am bringing all my curiosity and enthusiasm into the festival and embracing this musical adventure.
For more information on Geli Li, visit her website.