Emily Li
Emily Li stands as a globally acclaimed handbell virtuoso hailing from Hong Kong. She is an accomplished conductor, composer, soloist, and educator with over 30 years of experience. Her fascination with handbells ignited in 1986, sparking a deep passion for this heavenly instrument. Since 2000, Emily has dedicated years to honing her handbell dexterities in the United States under the guidance of esteemed masters in the field. She is the Artistic Director of the Hong Kong Handbell Academy, Hong Kong Youth Handbell Ensemble and Gloves Handbell, Chairperson of the Handbell Association of Hong Kong, and the Principal Guest Conductor of the Ministry of Bellz in Singapore.
Driven by a vision to popularize handbell ringing in Hong Kong, Emily established the Hong Kong Handbell Academy in 2004, aiming to offer the general public access to handbell resources and comprehensive professional training. She founded the Hong Kong Youth Handbell Ensemble (HKYHE) in 2005 and started training handbell conductors and performers of the young generation. 2006, she founded the Handbell Association of Hong Kong (HAHK) and organized the annual Hong Kong Handbell Festival. Under her leadership, the Association joined the International Handbell Committee in 2010, making Hong Kong the host city of the International Handbell Symposium in 2020.
Emily believes that a solid foundation is essential in handbell training for all ages. Her genuine enthusiasm lies in fostering holistic growth through handbell ringing, a passion she shares by guiding HKYHE to captivate audiences globally. These include the biennial International Handbell Symposium, the Asian Youth Arts Festival in Kagoshima, and concert tours in Taiwan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Helsinki, Estonia, Canada, and the United States.
Emily's accomplishments garnered international recognition. She served as the director of several pivotal handbell events, including Handbell Musicians of America's All-stars Choir (2014) and Distinctly Teens (2018) at the National Seminar; Area 1 Festival Conference (2023) and Distinctly Bronze -the massed ringing event for advanced handbell musicians (2024); The National Residential Ringing Week of Handbell Ringers of Great Britain (2015 & 2023); massed ringing director of the 15th, 16th, 17th and 20th International Handbell Symposium in the United Kingdom (2012), Korea( 2014), Canada (2016) and the United States (2022); International Conductor for the Youth Festival in the 18th International Handbell Symposium in Cairns (2018) and Conductor of the 3rd Singapore Handbell Festival (2019). She has also been a faculty member of HMA's National Seminar and the International Handbell Symposium since 2012.
As a handbell soloist, Emily's performances have resonated across diverse global stages in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Estonia, the United States, and Canada. Her handbell compositions were published both in Hong Kong and the United States.
