Auston Li, from New York City, is 16 years old and a student of Ernest Barretta at The Juilliard School, Pre-College Division, having previously studied with Adam Kent and Matti Raekallio. He studied also at the Manhattan School of Music, where in 2018, he became the youngest winner in the school’s history of the Piano Concerto Competition. As winner, he was invited to perform as part of their Centennial Season in 2018 as a soloist with their Symphony Orchestra, featured and broadcasted on WQXR. During his studies at the Manhattan School of Music, he was the recipient of the Dr. Michelle Solarz August Endowed Piano Scholarship and the Elva van Gelder Memorial Piano Scholarship.

Auston has performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and has performed solo recitals in Canada and Spain. He has made appearances with notable orchestras, playing under the baton of conductors Adam Glaser and Nell Flanders, performing the concerti of Wieck and Mozart.

Auston is an advocate for equity in musical education. He runs a social media project that focuses on cultivating positive practice habits, with the hope of inspiring endeavors in the world of music.