Violinist Kristin Lee is Guest Soloist with the Olympia Symphony
Photo by Lauren Desberg available in hi-resolution at www.jensenartists.com/artists-profiles/kristin-lee
Violinist Kristin Lee is Guest Soloist for
the Olympia Symphony’s Concert Pride on March 17
Performing Tchaikovsky’s Virtuosic Violin Concerto
Conducted by Music Director Alexandra Arrieche
Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 3pm
Washington Center for the Performing Arts
512 Washington St. SE | Olympia, WA
Kristin Lee: www.violinistkristinlee.com
Olympia, WA – On Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 3pm, violinist Kristin Lee, praised in The Strad for her “elegance” and “vivacity and electric energy,” will be the featured soloist with the Olympia Symphony, led by Music Director Alexandra Arrieche at Washington Center for the Performing Arts (512 Washington St. SE) in a concert titled Pride. Lee will perform Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s passionate Violin Concerto in D Major from 1878 as part of this program exploring the theme of prohibited love – the composer had intended to dedicate the piece to his partner but relented to societal pressure to hide that he was gay. The concert also includes Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story in an unconventional mashup arrangement, and a special, unannounced encore. Pride is part of Olympia Symphony’s 2023-2024 season True Colors, which invites audiences to appreciate authenticity.
Kristin Lee is a familiar face in Olympia. She last soloed with the Olympia Symphony in spring 2022, giving a fiery performance of Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. She is also co-founder and Artistic Director of Emerald City Music, which presents eclectic and vibrant chamber music performances in both Olympia and Seattle. The series was recently deemed "the beacon for the casual-classical movement" (CityArts) and seeks to provide concert experiences that leave both the audience and performers mutually transformed.
Lee is dedicated to forging personal connections between audiences and classical music. She performs widely as a member of New York’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, including on tour 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.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, “Her technique is flawless, and she has a sense of melodic shaping that reflects an artistic maturity.” 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.
Of returning to perform with the Olympia Symphony, Lee says,
“Olympia holds such a very special place in my heart, especially because of the many meaningful friendships I’ve made through Emerald City Music. I am extremely thrilled to join forces again with my friends at the Olympia Symphony to perform my absolute favorite piece - Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. This will be my first time collaborating with Alexandra [Arrieche] and from the incredible development of the Olympia Symphony I have followed and witnessed through her leadership, I know that she is an absolute force of nature! I can hardly wait to see the magic we'll bring together to the stage!”
Born in Seoul, Kristin Lee moved to the United States and 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. She is also the unprecedented First Prize winner of three concerto competitions at The Juilliard School, where she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Her violin was crafted in Italy in 1759 by Gennaro Gagliano and is generously loaned to her by Paul & Linda Gridley.
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 the Olympia Symphony, led by Music Director Alexandra Arrieche, in a concert titled Pride. Lee will perform Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s passionate Violin Concerto as part of this program exploring the theme of prohibited love – the composer had intended to dedicate the piece to his partner, but relented to societal pressure to hide that he was gay. The concert also includes Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story in an unconventional mashup arrangement, and a special, unannounced encore. Pride is part of Olympia Symphony’s 2023-2024 season True Colors, which invites audiences to appreciate authenticity.
Concert details:
Who: Violinist Kristin Lee
Soloist with the Olympia Symphony in Pride
Conducted by Music Director Alexandra Arrieche
What: Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Leonard Bernstein, and more
When: Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 3pm
Where: Washington Center Main Stage, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia, WA 98501
Tickets and information: www.olympiasymphony.org