May 11: Violinist Kristin Lee is Featured Soloist with Symphony Tacoma

Photo by Lauren Desberg available in hi-resolution at www.jensenartists.com/artists-profiles/kristin-lee

Violinist Kristin Lee is Featured Soloist with
Symphony Tacoma on May 11

Performing Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
Conducted by Music Director Sarah Ioannides

Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 7:30pm
Pantages Theater | 901 Broadway | Tacoma, WA
Tickets & Information

Kristin Lee: www.violinistkristinlee.com

Tacoma, WA – Violinist Kristin Lee – praised in The Strad for her “elegance” and “vivacity and electric energy” – joins Symphony Tacoma and Music Director Sarah Ioannides as the featured soloist in Johannes Brahms’ introspective and deeply emotive Violin Concerto in D major from 1878, on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 7:30pm at Pantages Theater (901 Broadway). The concert, titled Portraits, also includes Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade in A minor and Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations.

A violinist of remarkable versatility and impeccable technique, Kristin Lee enjoys a vibrant career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, and artistic director. “Her technique is flawless, and she has a sense of melodic shaping that reflects an artistic maturity,” writes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Strad reports, “She seems entirely comfortable with stylistic diversity, which is one criterion that separates the run-of-the-mill instrumentalists from true artists.”

Of her upcoming performance with Symphony Tacoma, Lee says,

“I am beyond thrilled to make my return to perform with the Tacoma Symphony and Sarah Ioannides on one of my absolute favorite concertos, Brahms's monumental Violin concerto. Sarah and I've maintained a great friendship over the years and collaborated on the giants of the violin concerti, including Nielsen, Tchaikovsky, and Sibelius, so it seems appropriate at this point to add the Brahms Violin Concerto to our list! This concerto consists of very symphonic sounds from the orchestra yet it is filled with the exchange of dialogues between the orchestra and the violin- like true chamber music! I can't wait to be inspired by the glorious playing of the Tacoma Symphony and the charismatic leadership from Sarah and experience this exchange on stage!”

Kristin Lee last performed with Symphony Tacoma in 2017. She is a familiar face to audiences in the area not only for her many performances here, but for her role as the founding Artistic Director of Emerald City Music, the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. The wildly successful concert series was deemed "the beacon for the casual-classical movement" by City Arts Magazine and is known for combining a relaxed atmosphere with performances by award-winning musicians.

Performing on a violin crafted in Italy in 1759 by Gennaro Gagliano, in addition to her solo appearances, Kristin Lee tours throughout the world as a member of New York’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, including in Italy, Croatia, Germany, Taiwan, and across the U.S. Always up for adventure, at the Moab Music Festival in Utah, Lee has performed in such unexpected places as rafting down the Colorado River, in a natural rock grotto, and in the magical landscape of the red rock canyons of the area.

Kristin Lee will release her debut solo album, American Sketches, in summer 2024 on the First Hand Records label. The album has a personal resonance for Lee. A native of Seoul, Korea, she emigrated to the U.S. at the age of seven. During her childhood, playing the violin was a refuge from bullying and racism for Kristin – she moved to the U.S. not speaking any English, and felt the violin became her voice. As a foreign-born citizen of the U.S., Lee was compelled to select this repertoire to express her pride in the country she now calls her own, and has recorded works by American composers including Amy Beach, George Gershwin, Theolonius Monk, Scott Joplin, and more, that have a distinct and recognizable sound of American music and its rich history.

Kristin Lee has performed as soloist with leading orchestras around the world including The Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Nordic Chamber Orchestra of Sweden, Ural Philharmonic of Russia, Korean Broadcasting Symphony, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra of China, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Dominican Republic, and many more.

She is the unprecedented First Prize winner of three concerto competitions at The Juilliard School, where she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Lee studied under prestigious teachers including Sonja Foster, Catherine Cho, Dorothy DeLay, and Itzhak Perlman. Her many honors include awards from the Trondheim Chamber Music Competition, Trio di Trieste Premio International Competition, the SYLFF Fellowship, Dorothy DeLay Scholarship, the Aspen Music Festival’s Violin Competition, the New Jersey Young Artists’ Competition, and the Salon de Virtuosi Scholarship Foundation. Lee’s violin is generously loaned to her by Paul & Linda Gridley.

Kristin Lee is committed to the future of classical music as a devoted mentor and educator for the next generation, serving on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as an Assistant Professor of Violin, and teaching in residencies with the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, El Sistema Chamber Music Festival of Venezuela, and Music@Menlo’s Chamber Music Institute, among others. For more information, visit www.violinistkristinlee.com.

For Calendar Editors:

Description: Violinist Kristin Lee, praised in The Strad for her “elegance” and “vivacity and electric energy,” will be the featured soloist with Symphony Tacoma, led by Music Director Sarah Ioannides, in Johannes Brahms’ introspective and deeply emotive Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77. The concert, titled Portraits, also includes Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade in A minor and Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations.

Concert details:

Who: Violinist Kristin Lee
Soloist with Symphony Tacoma in Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
Conducted by Music Director Sarah Ioannides
What: Portraits featuring music by Johannes Brahms, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Edward Elgar
When: Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 7:30pm
Where: Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402
Tickets and information: https://symphonytacoma.org/event/portraits/