Isabel 睿颐 Li (she/her) 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 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 for organizations including Venice Arts, Brightwork newmusic, AsiaNetwork, and Women Make Movies. She earned her BA in media studies (film/video) and music (history/theory) 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 screened at the 2025 UCLA Shorttakes Film Festival and Summer 2025 California Women’s Film Festival. Isabel also volunteers for community radio stations and hosts Obbligato on KPFA 94.1FM, a show about AAPI classical musicians, composers, and music scholars. Currently, she is the inaugural Classical IPR fellow at Interlochen Public Radio, where she produces and hosts classical music shows in collaboration with Interlochen Center for the Arts.

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, wandering in contemporary art museums, or handcoding websites (like this one!).