Michelle Lee’s Biography

Michelle Lee

Violinist Michelle Lee, 16, has performed as a soloist with the Oakland East Bay Symphony as the winner of the Young Artist Competition and with the Livermore-Amador Symphony as the winner of the Competition for Young Musicians.  She most recently performed in Herbst Theatre in San Francisco with the KAMSA Youth Orchestra, and was the Grand Prize winner of the Korea Times Youth Music Competition.

With an active interest in chamber music, Michelle has played in duos, quartets and other ensembles.  She currently plays in the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra Quartet and last year played in the Doori Moa Duo.  The duo won the Mondavi Young Artists Competition in the Senior Ensemble category and subsequently performed at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.  They have performed at the American Fine Arts Festival at Carnegie Hall, and the Festival del Sole in Napa Valley.  The duo won the Music Teachers’ Association of California VOCE competition, and has performed at Stanford University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Michelle was past Co-Concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and toured Europe with the SFSYO, playing at such famous venues as the Berlin Philharmonie and Prague’s Smetana Hall.  She attended the Muju Festival and Academy in Korea, as well as the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.  She has also played in the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Michelle studies with Dr. Ian Swensen of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she is a scholarship student at the Prep Division, as well as with Ms. Ju-Yi Peng.  She and her ensembles have received coaching from Bonnie Hampton, Sylvia Rosenberg, Peter Salaff, Michael Tree, William van der Sloot, Kathleen Winkler, and the Takacs Quartet.