Siow Lee Chin


Siow Lee Chin is a Singaporean violinist.
Featured in the American Record Guide as “a distinguished cultural asset of international stature”, and The Strad as a “trailblazing role model for string players,” Lee Chin's Gold Medal victory at the 1994 Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition launched her career as one of Singapore's first soloists on the international classical stage. Her performances been viewed on China Central TV, America's CBS, National Public Radio, and Singapore's MediaCorp.
As soloist, Lee Chin has collaborated with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ludwigsburg Festival Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Ukraine, National Symphony Orchestra of Chile, Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, Avignon Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia; as well as at major concert halls and festivals in Asia, Europe and Americas including the Royal Albert Hall, Osaka Symphony Hall, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Beijing Concert Hall, City Hall in Hong Kong, Esplanade Concert Hall, Hangzhou Grand Theatre, KonzertHaus Vienna, Petronas Concert Hall, Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, Suzhou Arts and Cultural Center, Tchaikovsky Hall; the Aspen Music Festival, Banff Music Festival, Cervantino Music Festival, Kansai International Performing Arts Festival, Lucerne International Music Festival, Ludwigsburg International Music Festival, Music Fest Perugia and Singapore Arts Festival. Recently, she performed centerstage at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games Opening Ceremony in the 55,000 capacity National Stadium, Singapore
Beginning her violin studies with her late father Siow Hee Shun, Lee Chin traces her musical lineage all the way back to Eugène Ysaÿe, Henri Vieuxtemps and Henryk Wieniawski through their disciples and her teachers at Curtis Institute of Music, Oberlin College and Mannes: Aaron Rosand, Jascha Brodsky, Felix Galimir, Roland and Almita Vamos. Today, she continues their pedagogical tradition in her work with young people in music institutions including Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music, Seoul National University, Chicago Institute of Music, Lisbon Academy of Music, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and as violin professor at the College of Charleston. Equally proud of her Asian origins, Lee Chin bridges the East and West, personalising familiar favourites with Asian motifs and introducing the music of Asian composers to the West. At the 2015 City of London Festival, she performed the world premiere of “Air”, a piece specially written for her by Chinese composer Yao Chen, in a recital program which showcased the evolution of violin virtuosity from J.S. Bach to the present.
Lee Chin's CD Songs My Father Taught Me was a HMV classical bestseller in 2009 and was picked for Fanfare Magazine's Want List. In 2015, Singapore Press Holdings published her memoirs From Clementi to Carnegie – The Journey of Singaporean Violinist Siow Lee Chin.

Awards and career highlights