Sean Lee, Violin

Biography

With performances described by The New York Times as “breathtakingly beautiful”, violinist Sean Lee is quickly gaining recognition as one of today’s most talented rising artists, having received top prizes in the “Premio Paganini” International Violin Competition and the Young Concert Artists, Inc. International Auditions.

As the winner of the 2009 Juilliard Concerto Competition, Lee made his New York City concerto debut at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall with conductor James DePreist and the Juilliard Orchestra. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Orchestra Del Teatro Carlo Felice, Westchester Symphony, Bedford Chamber Players, Peninsula Symphony, Torrance Symphony, and Redlands Symphony. As a recitalist, Lee has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall in New York City, the South Orange Performing Arts Center in New Jersey, on the Sundays Live series at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium.

An equally involved chamber musician, Lee is a Chamber Music Society Two Artist and will perform with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center from 2012-2015. In recent years, Lee has performed at Ravinia Festival, Music@Menlo, Maui Classical Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, and Montecito Summer Music Festival. Lee also performed for four seasons as a founding member of the LK String Quartet, drawing praise from The New York Times as “…fiery and propulsive, with striking unanimity…”, and from The Washington Post for “warm tone, elegant finish, a vivid engagement with the scores’ drama and ensemble that was tight as a drum.” Lee has appeared in a variety of chamber music configurations at venues including the Kennedy Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Americas Society, Le Poisson Rouge, and Alice Tully Hall. Lee performs regularly with the Metropolis Ensemble, an ensemble based in New York which commissions and premiers works from today’s leading composers. Other chamber music collaborations include performances with Paul Katz, Vivian Weilerstein, Ron Leonard, Miriam Fried, and Itzhak Perlman.

After studying with renowned violin pedagogue Robert Lipsett and legendary violinist Ruggiero Ricci, Lee studied at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of the internationally acclaimed Itzhak Perlman for a Bachelor of Music Degree and Master of Music Degree, and graduated as a recipient of the William Schuman Prize. During his studies, Lee led the Juilliard Orchestra for four seasons as concertmaster for performances under the batons of David Atherton, James DePriest, Xian Zhang, Alan Gilbert, and David Robertson at venues including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Shanghai Grand Theatre, and Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts.

In addition to his performing life, Lee is a dedicated educator. As a recipient of the Starling Fellowship, Lee serves as teaching assistant to Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School, and has also taught chamber music and been a substitute conductor at the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School. In 2010, Lee also joined the faculty of Music@Menlo’s Chamber Music Institute, and is a member of the violin faculty of the Perlman Music Program, where he was a student since 2003.