Yura Lee, violin
Born in South Korea in 1985, violinist Yura Lee has enjoyed an exceptional career since coming to the United States in 1994. In recent seasons she has appeared with many prestigious orchestras, among them the New York Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Saint Louis Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Tokyo Philharmonic and the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, among many others. The 1999-2000 season saw her Carnegie Hall debut with Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra, following subscription concerts in Washington, D.C. In the 2002-03 season, Ms. Lee was nominated and represented by Carnegie Hall for its ECHO (European Concert Hall Organization) series. For this series, Ms. Lee gave recitals at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall and at nine celebrated concert halls in Europe: Wigmore Hall in London, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Stockholm Konserthus, the Athens Concert Hall and the Cologne Philharmonie.
Also in 2002-03, Ms. Lee returned to Tokyo to perform with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev; she also performed in Seoul with the Korean Symphony under Myung-Whun Chung. In the summer of 2003 she toured as soloist with the New York Philharmonic and conductor Lorin Maazel, performing concerts in New York City, at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, Italy, and at the Vail Music Festival. Following the tour, Ms. Lee performed with the Chicago Symphony and Christoph Eschenbach at the Ravinia Festival.
Ms. Lee was invited to the Verbier Festival in 2000 and 2001, performing in recital with pianist Roger Vignoles and playing chamber music with Emanuel Ax, Frans Helmerson, Joseph Silverstein and many others. As a chamber musician, she also regularly performs at the Caramoor Festival in New York.
In 1997 Ms. Lee received the Debut Artist of the Year prize at the "Performance Today" awards given by National Public Radio. She has also been featured on the "Late Show with David Letterman," CNN/fN, "Fox on Arts," WABC-TV in New York, KBS in South Korea and ZDF Arte in Germany. She also made a special musical appearance on the acclaimed HBO series "Oz."
Yura Lee began her violin studies at age 4 with Namyoon Kim in Seoul, Korea. Her extraordinary talent was quickly recognized, when, at age 5, she won a top prize at the prestigious Hankook Ilbo Competition in Seoul. Two years later she made her debut with Korea's leading orchestra, the KBS Symphony, performing Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1. From 1994 to 2001, Ms. Lee studied at the Juilliard School of Music, under Hyo Kang and the late Dorothy DeLay. During the summers of 1995-2000 she was a full scholarship student at the Aspen Music School and has performed many times at the Aspen Music Festival. In 2001 and 2002 she participated at the Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia. Ms. Lee now studies with Miriam Fried and Paul Biss and attends the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
Yura Lee plays the "Mary Portman" Guarneri del Gesu, Cremona, 1735, on extended loan from Clement Arrison through The Stradivary Society of Chicago.
