Isabel Li

Isabel Li is a second generation Chinese American writer, filmmaker, artist and creative scholar from Los Angeles. Her work merges her liberal arts background in musicology, Asian American studies and media research with her creative practice in audio production, narrative filmmaking, screenwriting, performance, video art, games and poetry.

Isabel’s lifelong experiences as a violinist and orchestra musician has influenced her journey in arts advocacy, and she has worked in education, marketing and development with organizations including Venice Arts, Brightwork newmusic, AsiaNetwork and Women Make Movies.

She recently earned her BA in music history/theory and media studies from Scripps College, Claremont, and completed a filmmaking program at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU).

Her focus on amplifying access to classical music and exploring the Asian American Pacific Islander community in the classical music world began with her directorial debut, Play, Then, a short film about a Chinese American cellist who must perform for his grandmother, which was featured at the 2025 UCLA Shorttakes Film Festival, Silicon Valley Asian American Film Festival and California Women's Film Festival.

Isabel also produces and hosts Obbligato on Bay Area-based station KPFA 94.1FM, a show featuring stories of AAPI classical musicians, composers and music scholars.

When she isn't writing her classical-music-meets-magical-realism series, you can find her practicing violin concertos, leading polymer clay workshops in independent bookstores or wandering in contemporary art museums.