Samantha Li was born in Adelaide in 2009 and is currently a Year 11 student at St Peter’s Girls’ School. She plays an active role in the school’s music department and serves as Strings Captain. In addition to piano, her principal instrument, Samantha studies violin and is concertmaster of both Extension Strings and Senior Strings. Her violin studies have further developed her musicianship, particularly in chamber and ensemble performance.

Samantha studies piano with Monika Laczofy OAM. In 2019, at the age of 10, she completed her AMusA diploma and received the Berenice Harrison Award at Recitals Australia’s Autumn Series, becoming the award’s youngest recipient. She was also invited to perform at UKARIA Cultural Centre. In 2020, she received the Jewels Stevens Scholarship from the Elder Conservatorium of Music.

In 2021, Samantha won the Miriam Hyde Open Award and was named a Young Bach Scholar in the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Bach Competition. She also received third prize for violin in the 25 Years and Under All Strings Solo Repertoire category.
In 2022, Samantha received the Berenice Harrison Award for a second time, performing in a duo with clarinettist James Skelton. The pair was subsequently invited to perform Poulenc’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano at Government House, South Australia. That year, Samantha was also awarded the Sieben-Scott Prize by the Metropolitan Male Choir of South Australia. She completed her Licentiate diploma with distinction and received the Licentiate Prize, becoming the youngest musician in South Australia to achieve this distinction. As a violinist, she was also invited to perform with the State Opera South Australia.

Samantha was later awarded the Miriam Hyde Medallion by the Adelaide Eisteddfod Society, recognising her as the most promising pianist under the age of 16. In 2023, she won first prize in the Metropolitan Male Choir of South Australia Scholarship Awards and performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A major with the choir’s orchestra. Her performances have taken her to venues including Elder Hall and the Norwood, Kent Town and Balaklava town halls. She also won first prize in both the 14 Years and Over Two Contrasting Solo Works category and the 11–16 Years Solo Performance category.
At the Sisters of the Church Music Festival in Canberra, Samantha served as concertmaster of the Festival Symphony Orchestra under conductor John Ockwell. She was also a featured soloist at Generations in Jazz, where her ensemble placed third overall, being the first strings group to enter the competition.
Alongside her extensive musical commitments, Samantha completed the Year 12 Stage 2 Music Studies subject while in Year 10, achieving an A+.

Over the years, Samantha has received numerous first prizes in eisteddfods and scholarship competitions. A dedicated and accomplished young musician, she hopes to inspire others through her performances and to bring joy and hope to her audiences. She looks forward to continuing her development as both a soloist and ensemble musician.