Kristin Lee, Violin

Biography

Kristin Lee is recognized one of the most accomplished artists of her generation, and has been praised by The Strad for her “rare stylistic aptness” and “mastery of tone and rare mood in a performer of any age.” A violinist of remarkable versatility and impeccable technique, Ms. Lee enjoys a vibrant career as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She performs regularly at Lincoln Center as a member of Chamber Music Society Two, and is a member of the ground-breaking Metropolis Ensemble. Since her explosive concerto debut with Orchestra Atlanta at the age of 10, she has appeared as soloist with major orchestras throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the Saint Louis Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Albany Symphony, Macon Symphony, Westchester Philharmonic, Alexandria Symphony, Ural Philharmonic of Russia, Pusan Philharmonic, and the Korea Broadcast Symphony. Ms. Lee has appeared in the world’s finest halls, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, the Metropolitan Museum and Steinway Hall’s Salon de Virtuosi in New York, the Louvre Museum in Paris, and Korea’s Kumho Art Gallery. She has also been featured on the Ravinia Festival’s Rising Stars Series, and has toured throughout northern Italy. She is a winner of Astral Artists’ 2010 National Auditions.

Upcoming projects include a newly commissioned violin concerto written for Ms. Lee and the Metropolis Ensemble by acclaimed Chinese-Canadian composer Vivian Fung, which premières in September 2011 and will be recorded for the Naxos label. The 2011-2012 season also includes Ms. Lee’s Philadelphia recital debut on Astral’s series, performances of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the NOVA Philharmonic and renowned violinist/violist Daniel Philips, and solo performances with the New Jersey Symphony and the LaGrange Symphony. As a member of Chamber Music Society Two, she performs in Alice Tully Hall, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Chicago’s Harris Hall, and at Drew University in New Jersey.

An accomplished chamber musician, Ms. Lee has shared the stage with many of the world’s foremost artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Franz Helmerson, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Roberto Díaz, and the Orion String Quartet. She has also participated at the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute, the Music@Menlo International Program, the Perlman Music Program’s Chamber Music Workshop, and at the Sarasota Music Festival.

Ms. Lee’s performances have been broadcast on WQXR in New York, on Bob Sherman’s “Young Artists Showcase,” and with guitarist Mattias Jacobsson on Annie Bergen’s “The Office Hours.” Other broadcasts include PBS’s “Live from Lincoln Center,” the Kennedy Center Honors, and a guest artist performance on WFMT Chicago’s Rising Stars series. She also appeared on a nationally broadcast PBS documentary entitled “PBS in Shanghai,” which chronicled a historic, cross-cultural exchange between the Perlman Music Program and Shanghai Conservatory.

Ms. Lee’s many honors include Second Prize in the 20011 Trio di Trieste Premio International Competition, SYLFF Fellowship, Dorothy DeLay Scholarship, and the Excellent Achievement in Musicianship Award from the Pre-College Division of The Juilliard School, and awards from the Atlanta Jewish Community Competition in 1996, Aspen Music Festival’s Violin Competition, the New Jersey Young Artist’s Competition, and the Salon de Virtuosi Scholarship Foundation. Ms. Lee is the unprecedented First Prize winner of three concerto competitions at The Juilliard School: in the Pre-College Division in 1997 and 1999, and in the College Division in 2007.

Born in Seoul, Ms. Lee began studying the violin at the age of five, and within just one year won First Prize at the prestigious Korea Times Violin Competition. In 1995, she moved to the United States and continued her musical studies under Sonja Foster. Two years later, she became a student of Catherine Cho and the legendary Dorothy DeLay in The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division. In January 2000 she was chosen to study with Itzhak Perlman, after he heard her perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Juilliard’s Pre-College Symphony Orchestra. In May 2010, Ms. Lee earned a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Itzhak Perlman and Donald Weilerstein, and served as an assistant teacher for Mr. Perlman’s studio as a Starling Fellow. She joined the Queens College faculty in the fall of 2010.