Magdalen Hsu-Li (born Rochelle Li; 1970) is a

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, speaker,

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and cultural activist. She is also a Doctor of

Acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

and

Chinese Medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence of effectiveness or ...

Biography

Hsu-Li was born in the southern city of Martinsville,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

to Chinese

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

parents. She began

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

lessons at age 8 but was mainly interested in

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

in her early years.Charlotte Dillon
"Magdalen Hsu-Li"
at IcebergRadio.com. Accessed January 15, 2007. She has spoken about growing up with Tourettes. She attended college at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

where she won accolades including the ''Florence Leif Award for Excellence in Painting'', the ''Talbot Rantoul Scholarship'' and the ''Chicago Institute of the Arts Oxbow Fellowship''. After graduating, she moved to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, and discovered a passion for

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

over

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and texti ...

. She matriculated at the

Cornish College of the Arts Cornish College of the Arts (CCA) was a Private college, private art school, art college in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1914 by music teacher Nellie Cornish. The college's main campus is in the Denny Triangle, Seattle, Denny Triangle ...

, where she studied

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and won a music scholarship in 1995. In 2008, she graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

with a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

Performance and recordings

She began performing publicly in 1996 and released her first album, ''Evolution'', on her own Chickpop Records

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

in 1998. Her second album, ''Fire'', was released in 2001 and was named one of ''Performing Songwriter'' magazine's top 12 DIY

albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

of the year, and best producer at the Outvoice Music Awards. Her song "As I am" was included on ''Performing Songwriters ninth compilation album in 2003.Compilation 9
''Performing Songwriter'' magazine, 2003. Her third album, ''Smashing The Ceiling'', was released in 2005 and had performances by the drummer

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session drummer, record producer and songwriter. He has played with various artists, including Pearl Jam, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, David Bowie, Tori Amos, Morrissey, The Wallflow ...

, the violinist

Eyvind Kang Eyvindur Y. Kang (born 23 June 1971) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. His primary instrument is viola, but has also performed on violin, tuba, keyboard instruments, keyboards and others. In addition to his solo work, Kang has w ...

and the guitarist Timothy Young. While attending Berklee she was a piano principal in the songwriting Department, and a recipient of the Berklee Achievement Scholarship and Jack Maher Scholarship for Excellence in songwriting. She is a multi-instrumentalist who writes most of her songs and tours with her partner Greane.

Music

Hsu-Li's music can be considered derivative of

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and

and is described as having "vocals comparable to

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

and

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...

and music at times reminiscent of

Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influenc ...

's solo albums and other times of percussion-driven

Rusted Root Rusted Root is an American worldbeat rock band formed in 1990 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by singer-guitarist Michael Glabicki, bassist Patrick Norman and percussionist Liz Berlin. The band got its start as the house band playing a weekly gig in ...

." Hsu-Li describes her music as "pop rock alt folk singer-songwriter music with a tinge of country, jazz, and punk."

Reception

Hsu-Li's music has been described as "exquisitely furious, beautiful, and exciting" by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', and "an achingly gorgeous collection of piano-based rock recalling the finest moments of Tori Amos or Ben Folds Five" by ''

Yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...

'' magazine. ''Curve'' magazine called her music a sumptuous feast for the ears. ''"A Magazine"'' wrote, "her blend of hard-grounded folk and sweet siren lyrics makes an enduring impression upon the American music scene her distinguishing factor is her cool, edgy, sound and courage to be sensitive, tender, and feminine. As she carves her identity as an artist in an industry where Asian women are not thought of as musical powerhouses or innovators - Magdalen is a rare force with which to reckon." About ''Fire'', the Advocate wrote, "finely crafted, melodic, piano-based songs that borrow equally from pop, folk, jazz, blues and even punk."

In her own words

Her songs visually portray what she sees as a trained painter while addressing universal themes about identity, spirituality, consciousness, love, loss, and relationships. "I write completely from the heart," she says, "but also from my cultural heritages and the places I'm from (the southeast, northeast, and west coast). "One of the problems in our society is a lack of awareness for the wealth of cultural diversity that surrounds us," she says. "I intend to always be defining issues of identity, raising awareness, and bringing communities together through my music, art, and writing. My primary goal as an artist is to help break through the glass ceiling in America so that Asians and other cultural minorities become accepted as artistic and commercial forces in popular music and other artistic mediums." In 2012, she spoke on her work on a book and CD, "This book and its accompanying CD will be the culmination of many stories, chapters, and tales within the paths that my life has taken," she says. "Throughout my life, I have rejected many traditions that were integral to my Chinese heritage, while simultaneously reclaiming others. I did not start out my life knowing what I would become. Rather, the shape and course of my life were composed like a painting or a piece of music, by the flow of events and people I encountered along the way, the choices that I made." I've always tried to live my life by listening to my heart and following the Dao." She says, "And I've been fortunate to have some amazing teachers and healers in my life. They've steadied me on my path along the way, giving me insights and guidance to help me be my highest self in this lifetime. It's time to share what they have taught me with others - and that is what this new book and CD will be about".

Discography

;With ChickPop Records * 1997 ''Muscle and Bone'' (EP) * 1998 ''Evolution'' * 2001 ''Fire'' * 2005 ''Smashing the Ceiling''

Medicine

In the mid-1990s, Hsu-Li experienced chronic laryngitis. She attended an

acupuncturist Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...

and was able to return to singing. She continued with treatment and decided to train in the area. In the 2020s, she treats patients in Rhode Island.

Family

Hsu-Li has one child, with musician Greane ( Adam Dias).Backerkit website, ''Magdalen Hsu-Li & Greane - "Art After Baby" CD & Book''
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hsu-Li, Magdalen Living people American women singer-songwriters American musicians of Chinese descent American bisexual women American bisexual musicians Bisexual singers Bisexual songwriters Bisexual women musicians LGBTQ people from Virginia American LGBTQ people of Asian descent American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ songwriters Rhode Island School of Design alumni Berklee College of Music alumni Cornish College of the Arts alumni 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American women musicians Rhode Island School of Design alumni in music 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers 1970 births LGBTQ women singers