concert violinist - chamber musician - educator
Delighting her listeners with "her warm, humane musicianship" and "sweet spot of grace", Anna Lee is an active concert violinist, chamber musician, and teacher. Having started out as a wunderkind, she made her debut with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra when she was 6 years old (the video of which has over 10 million views on YouTube).
Passionate about expanding the classical canon, Anna Lee has premiered several works written for her, in venues such as the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam and Paine Hall at Harvard University. She has also presented at ideas festivals, such as the EG Conference, while performances at traditional concert venues include the Carnegie, Avery Fisher, Wigmore, Beethoven-Haus, and Lotte Concert Halls.
As a soloist, Anna Lee made her New York Philharmonic debut in April 2011 and her German debut in 2016 with maestro Christoph Eschenbach and the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra. She has claimed top and numerous special prizes in the 2019 Montréal, 2018 Indianapolis, 2011 Sion-Valais,
2010 and 2012 Menuhin, and 2009 Aspen Music Festival AACA Competitions.
Anna Lee has also been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Louis Sudler Prize from the Office for the Arts at Harvard University and the Bernhard and Mania Hahnloser Violin Prize at the Verbier Festival.
She recently graduated with her Comparative Literature degree at Harvard College, where she completed her thesis on the intersection of music, poetry, and philosophy. She has also taught as a chamber music teacher, most notably at the Kronberg Academy’s Mit Musik—Miteinander festival and the MusicAlp Festival in France.
Anna Lee plays a Giovanni Tononi violin, dated ca. 1690, on a generous loan from the Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute.
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reviews
"Lee was a mythical creature, drawing the audience under a spell with virtuosity and crystal-clear clouds of sound."-NMZ Neue Musikzeitung
"...the concluding fireworks [were] tossed off with flair and childlike enjoyment... her talents are too wide to confine to this small wooden box." -The Washington Post
"Lee took command of the room from the first note... She brought a transfixing emotional maturity beyond her years, especially to the stormier moments." -IndyStar
"Anna Lee was completely at home... the highest peaks, as well as the organic design of these highly virtuosic pieces, were achieved and worked out with great care and passion." -RNZ Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung