Michelle Shengyu Li


Selected Works

Eternal Horizon: The Sunrise and Sunset

In collaboration with the composer, Yoonjung Lee

Ternary Performance:
I. The Sunrise
II. The Sunset
III. Eternal Horizon

Composed by Yoonjung Lee for flute, bassoon, and four voices.

Performed by Ivan Smaltsuga (flute), Wrenn Mokry (bassoon), Sophia Sorrentino, Caitlin Glastonbury, Evelyn Miao, and Xinyue Liu (vocalists).

Commissioned for the opening reception of Rooted/Growing by MICA EDS for the MICA Bicentennial (Baltimore, MD, February 5th, 2026).
“Eternal Horizon: The Sunrise and Sunset” is a ternary musical performance, expanding on the piece’s first rendition, “The Sunset / Eternal Horizon.” 

Moving towards and around an 8 ft double-sided music stand holding a candle, six musicians control breath through voice and woodwind instruments. The piece contemplates the sunrise and sunset as recurring, ephemeral spaces that draw an eternal horizon— everlasting, but always in the distance. Reflecting on migratory experiences, Lee and Li continue to dedicate objects, songs, and spaces to the sacredness of each step and breath.








Photographed by Nashiket Sharma.