Artist Series Concerts Of Sarasota Presents Teen Violin Prodigy SooBeen Lee

Artist Series Concerts presents violinist SooBeen Lee, the final artist for this season from Young Concert Artists International,

Hailed as "Korea's hottest violin prodigy," SooBeen Lee has been praised by the Washington Post for her "poised presence, luxurious sound, spot-on intonation and a bow arm that surely will be the envy of her peers." A professional musician since age nine and still just nineteen years of age, Lee has already earned an international reputation as one of the most prodigiously talented instrumentalists to emerge in recent years. She has already appeared as soloist with every major Korean orchestra, including the Seoul and Busan Philharmonics and the KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed for the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the King and Queen of Malaysia.

Lee began studying at the age of four and at age eight won the National Competition of the Korean Chamber Orchestra. She took first prize at the Russia International Youth Violin Competition the following year and then captured first prize at the 2013 Moscow International David Oistrakh Violin Competition. In 2014, she won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and was also honored with YCA's Slomovic Prize for her Washington, DC recital debut. She has since performed in such major locales and venues as Alice Tully Hall, New York's Morgan Library and Museum, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, in Palm Beach with the Palm Beach Symphony, and at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Like many young performers, Lee is also a savvy user of social media and especially YouTube, where her performance videos have amassed over 7,000 followers and 560,000 views worldwide, gaining fans for herself and for classical music in general. YouTube has influenced Lee in other ways as well. It was while watching renowned violinist Miriam Fried on YouTube that Lee decided to work with Fried at the New England Conservatory, where she continues to study today.

In addition to her Sarasota concerts, Lee's 2020 season includes performances of Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy with the Detroit and Bangor Symphonies, the Sibelius Concerto at the Brevard Music Festival and the Mozart Concerto No. 4 with the Sinfonia Gulf Coast.

Lee currently performs on a 1794 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin - on loan from the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation.

"SooBeen is the third and last musician to perform with us this season from Young Concert Artists International, an ongoing collaboration that has resulted in groundbreaking performances for us by young artists already playing at the highest of levels," says Joseph Holt, director of artist programs for Artist Series Concerts. "And like our first two YCA artists, cellist Zlatomir Fung and bassist Xavier Foley, SooBeen Lee is also that rare and wonderful combination of youth, extraordinary virtuosity and artistic maturity beyond her years. With artists like these, the future of classical music looks bright indeed."

Lee will be joined by Boston-based pianist Dina Vainshtein, who is known for her sensitive and virtuosic collaborations with some of the most promising musicians of recent years. She has performed at the Alice Tully and Weill Recital Halls and was the recipient of a special prize for the best collaborative pianist at the Tchaikovsky International Competition.

Lee and acclaimed collaborative pianist Dina Vainshtein perform on April 4, 7:30 p.m. and April 5, 3:00 p.m., at the Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Tickets are $25 - $45 and are available online at www.ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or by calling 941-306-1202, Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

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