Piano
Soomi Lee began studying piano at age five with her mother; by age nine she had appeared as soloist with the Korean Broadcasting Symphony. Shortly after giving a solo recital in Town Hall at age twelve, she became the youngest artist ever invited to perform at the Auckland Festival in New Zealand, where she gave two solo recitals.
Immediately thereafter, Ms. Lee came to the United States as a full scholarship student at the Juilliard Pre-College Division. While a student there, she gave her New York debut recital at Carnegie Recital Hall at age sixteen. Later, Ms. Lee attended the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia; she was awarded a Bachelor of Music Degree from Indiana University and received her master’s degree in music from the New England Conservatory. Her teachers have included Mme. Iona Kabos, Georgy Sebok, James Tocco, Patricia Zander and Nadia Boulanger.
Among Ms. Lee’s numerous awards are prizes in the Seoul National Philharmonic Competition, the Kankakee Piano Competition and the Midland Odessa Young Artists Competition. Her solo appearances include performances with the Boston Pops, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Harvard Chamber Orchestra, Sinfo Nova, Symphony by the Sea, New Philharmonia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Seoul, Newton, Brookline, Nashua and Thayer. Ms. Lee is also an active chamber musician, having worked extensively with such masters as Felix Galimir, Joseph Gingold, Janos Starker, Franco Gulli and Leon Kirchner. Ms. Lee has performed in concerts with many members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and with members of the Muir, Hawthorne and Emerson String Quartets. A frequent live guest pianist at WGBH in Boston, Ms. Lee has also appeared on the Cambridge Cable TV Networks.
She has given recitals throughout the New England area in such venues as the French Library, Gardner Museum, Mechanic’s Hall, Worcester Art Museum, Jordan Hall and Sanders Theatre. In Europe, Ms.Lee has concertized in France, Switzerland and England at the Fontainbleau, Tivor-Varga, Ernen Musikdorf and Dartington Festivals. A member of the Harvard Chamber Orchestra, Ms. Lee is also an active teacher. She has been on the faculty at the Walnut Hill School, Performing Arts School of Worcester and the Extension Division of the New England Conservatory.
