Ann Arbor Concert Band

Annie Li is currently a senior at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. She began her studies on the clarinet in the fifth grade with Jay deVries, who to this day remains her incredible teacher and mentor. Under his guidance, she earned a position in Pioneer's Grammy-winning Symphony Band in ninth grade and has held the title of principle clarinet in both the school's Symphony Band and Orchestra for two years. She has been an active member in her school's music department: playing as a member of the pit orchestra for Pioneer Theatre Guild's production of Guys and Dolls in 2015, Pioneer Wind Ensemble from 2014 to 2016, and Pioneer Woodwind Quintet from 2016 to present. In April 2015, she traveled with the Pioneer bands to New York, where they had the remarkable privilege of performing at Carnegie Hall. Over two years later, in December 2017, she also had the honor of playing in Chicago with her school's orchestra as one of two public high school orchestras across the nation selected to perform at the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference. Finally, just this spring, Annie accompanied the Pioneer Symphony Band on an unforgettable tour of Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia. She is immensely grateful for all the amazing opportunities she has been presented throughout her high school career as a member of Pioneer's ensembles.

In addition to her achievements within her school, Annie has been a yearly participant in the MSBOA All-State Ensembles since 2013, most notably receiving first chair clarinet in the high school orchestra in 2015 and 2018 and first chair in high school band in 2016. In 2017, she played as a member of the MYAF Honors Orchestra. She also placed runner-up in the 2017 Washtenaw County Concert Band Concerto Competition and had the honor of performing Gioachino Rossini's Introduction, Theme and Variations with the band.

Before Annie fell in love with the smooth, elegant sound of the clarinet (and the fact that it only required her to read one line at a time), she studied the piano under instructors Zhihua Tang from ages 7 to 13 and Yili Lin from 13 to 16. In 2016, Annie earned her Level 10 SATD piano certification - the highest level offered then by the Michigan Music Teachers' Association. Although she has since stopped taking private piano lessons in order to focus on the clarinet and other academic pursuits, she still enjoys learning new piano repertoire in her free time.

Aside from music, Annie has been passionately involved in Science Olympiad since elementary school; currently, she coaches events at both middle and high school levels. She also seeks to contribute as much as she can to the community through volunteer work and currently leads her school's Red Cross Club in conducting blood drives, fundraisers, and other forms of outreach. In addition, she is a member of Latitude/Velocity, her tirelessly compassionate and supportive youth group at Harvest Mission Community Church. When she has the time, Annie also likes to read, bake, joke around with friends, and watch Netflix.

In the fall, Annie plans to attend the University of Michigan's College of Engineering to study computer science in order to pursue a career in software development. Through this field, she hopes to solve problems for and bring to life the visions of non-profit organizations in the future as they face the growing technological demands of our fast-paced society. However, she fully intends to continue her clarinet playing in college and long afterwards as a member of campus and local ensembles.