Christel Lee, Violin Recital

In December of that same year, she was invited to perform with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Music Director John Storgårds, on a tour to Birmingham and Dublin that celebrated the 150th Her success in Helsinki was preceded by numerous awards, including second prize and the Audience Prize at the 2013 ARD International Competition in Munich. Her interpretations have been highly praised by critics for their intensity, technical precision, and emotional depth.

As a soloist, Christel Lee has performed with renowned orchestras such as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Korean Symphony Orchestra, the KBS Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic, and the SWR Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart. In addition to her solo career, she is a passionate chamber musician and regularly collaborates with leading artists of her generation. She is regularly invited to festivals in Europe, Asia, and North America. Among her recent highlights is the world premiere of the newly commissioned double concerto for violin and cello by Finnish composer Kalevi Aho, which was written for her and cellist Jonathan Roozeman.

Christel Lee, whose family has Korean roots, was born in Bloomington and began playing the violin at the age of five in Vancouver, Canada. She later moved to New York City, attended the Professional Children’s School, and graduated from The Juilliard School in 2011. She then continued her studies at the Kronberg Academy and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich under Ana Chumachenco. In addition to her work as a musician, Lee is deeply committed to music education and the promotion of young talent. Since 2024, she has been a professor of violin at the Karlsruhe University of Music. She plays a violin by Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi from 1770, which has been generously made available to her from a private collection.