Simon J. Li is a New Zealand composer, producer, and pianist known for his colorful, harmony-rich music and stylistic versatility. Through his classical training and love for music of all kinds, he is able to craft a distinctive personal sound which draws inspiration from a wide range of sources. As such, he always aims to create a unique sound for each project, blending his passion for acoustic instruments with his fascination and constant curiosity for synthesizers and found objects.
He also has extensive experience in audio engineering, both in recorded music and live sound. He was the head recording and mixing engineer at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts in Chicago from 2016 to 2020, and was a studio intern at the prestigious Chicago Recording Company, where he had the privilege of assisting and learning from some of the best engineers in the industry.
Outside of music, Simon is an avid fan of movies, bike rides, and American sports. He loves spending time in the beautiful New Zealand when he can, but is happy to make New York City his current home.
Simon completed his Master’s degree in Screen Scoring at NYU Steinhardt where he received the prestigious Alan Menken scholarship and has studied under Ariel Marx, Chris Hajian, Jamie Lawrence, and Eric V. Hachikian. He was selected to the Society of Composers and Lyricists’ New York Mentor Program for 2021-22 and was recently selected as a Fellow for the 2023 Los Angeles Film Conducting Intensive.
Simon is passionate about collaboration and musical storytelling, and has written music for several short films and animations. His latest works include the score for the 2022 short film I Was Always Coming Back (dir. Christian Jones).
Currently, Simon works as a composer's assistant to Marcelo Zarvos, where he has worked on projects such as Emancipation (2022) starring Will Smith and American Gigolo (2022-present) starring Jon Bernthal.
Simon Li is a New Zealand composer, producer, and pianist known for his colorful, harmony-rich music and stylistic versatility. Through his classical training and love for music of all kinds, he is able to craft a distinctive personal sound which draws inspiration from a wide range of sources. As such, he always aims to create a unique sound for each project, blending his passion for acoustic instruments with his fascination and constant curiosity for synthesizers and found objects.
He also has extensive experience in audio engineering, both in recorded music and live sound. He was the head recording and mixing engineer at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts in Chicago from 2016 to 2020, and was a studio intern at the prestigious Chicago Recording Company, where he had the privilege of assisting and learning from some of the best engineers in the industry.
Outside of music, Simon is an avid fan of movies, bike rides, and American sports. He loves spending time in the beautiful New Zealand when he can, but is happy to make New York City his current home.
Simon is currently pursuing a Master’s in Screen Scoring at NYU Steinhardt where he received the prestigious Alan Menken scholarship and has studied under Jamie Lawrence, Eric V. Hachikian, and Chris Hajian. He was recently selected to the Society of Composers and Lyricists' New York Mentor Program for 2021-22.
Simon is passionate about collaboration and musical storytelling, and has written music for several short films and animations. His latest works include scores for the 2021 short films Just Another Day (dir. Ryan Daniel) and Out of Mind (dir. Angelica Rosario). In 2020, he received an Honorable Mention award for his entry to the Rec Change Film Scoring Competition.