Recently inducted into the “Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame” (2023), a designation recognizing America’s most committed and passionate piano educators by Steinway, Dr. Lei Cai was born in Shanghai, China. His music training began at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at age six, and continued his training in the United States. His degrees are from University of Tennessee (MM), and Florida State University (DM). Dr. Cai joined the music faculty at Ouachita Baptist University in 2001, and serves as Professor of Piano.
Cai has collaborated with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra on CD. He has premiered and recorded solo works by famous Chinese composers for Radio Shanghai; those critically acclaimed recordings have been broadcast in China. He has presented numerous recitals in China, Europe, and the United States. His performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.1 was described as “one of the finest performances of this work…Cai displayed a power and crispness of technique that would make any soloist proud” (Knoxville News-Sentinel). Radio Shanghai described his playing as “clear, colorful, and poetic.” He has judged national competitions, performed in the music halls such as Sydney Opera House’s Utzon Room, Schumannhaus, held master classes in the United States, Korea and China, and Portugal.