Chris Li had to think twice to remember he’d recently celebrated his 17th birthday, but the talented flutist has clear recollections of sharing the Wolf Trap stage with Lizzo, Tuesday night.
Li is a member of DC Flutes, an ensemble co-founded in 2010 by Aaron Goldman, of the National Symphony Orchestra.
Li and his colleagues performed a medley of Lizzo’s hit songs before the headliner took the stage in Vienna, Virginia.
“We got to meet Lizzo backstage,” Li said. “We took pictures with her, and we did the Lizzo trill together, and it was a lot of fun — she was such a great person.”
Lizzo has been credited with elevating the flute, and bringing it to a wider audience.
“I really enjoy her music, and I have a lot of friends who are giant fans of Lizzo,” Li said. “They would be really jealous if they knew.”
This performance at Wolf Trap was DC Flutes’ largest audience.
“We were all very excited to be a part of this, and of course there was some nerves,” Li said. “I felt prepared for it, and I knew that it was going to be a great time.”
Li said performing at Wolf Trap “is very special” because he grew up attending shows at the venue.
“Over the summers I would go catch whatever performances at Wolf Trap that I could,” he said.
From his vantage point as a performer, he was wowed by the magnitude of the staging.
“The backstage at Wolf Trap is the largest I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said. “It was like an airplane hangar.”
Since the Filene Center is partially exposed to the outdoor elements, he hadn’t thought about the potential of wind complicating the performance.
“Mr. Goldman was walking around after sound check, making sure everybody had a clip on their music stand to prevent our music from blowing away,” laughed Li.
Li said he started playing piano, but began playing flute “in fourth grade, when I realized I wanted to be part of an ensemble so I could make music with my friends.”
Now, he’s part of the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra, and has performed with the Maryland All State Youth Orchestra and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.
“I don’t think my life would be the same without flute or music,” said Li, adding he hopes his career will bring him back to the Wolf Trap stage.
WTOP’s Acacia James contributed to this report.
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