...Growing up I was taught to serve. Making and sharing music is my way of serving my communities. I am constantly inspired by my fellow musicians, friends and colleagues who keep this precious art form alive. We feed off each other intense energies in orchestras and the whole experience is so electrifying. We then make sure to pass on the tradition to the younger generations of musicians. My journey as a violinist has brought me numerous surprises as I trot along the path. I went places I never dreamt of with my music, and played with people I never imagined I could even meet. Of course, the road isn’t always so smooth; I faced rejections, I cried, I grieved and I moved on, and tried to do better. These emotional tolls, turmoils  and joy are what I strive to convey in my performances. The listeners really can feel it when your music is sincere...

 

Violinist Yada Lee has given recitals and concerts at Beethovenfest in Bonn, Germany, Tongyeong International Music Festival in South Korea, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont, Mazzoleni Hall and Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre in Toronto. Dedicated to the betterment of society, she has given countless benefit concerts for charitable organizations in Thailand, such as Operation Smile Thailand, The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, Wheelchair and Friendship Centre of Asia, Wishing Well Foundation, Thai Red Cross Society, and more. 

 

Ms. Lee’s 2022 season highlights include a happy return to the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra featuring notable artists such as Martin Fröst, Yuja Wang, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Klaus Mäkelä and more; an appearance as a guest violinist with Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra in Croatia; and most recently her very first concerts at the 75th Edinburgh International Festival with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at Usher Hall, United Kingdom.

 

2020-2021 season highlights included "Love and Turmoil"--a Solo Spotlight recital at New World Symphony with pianists Sahun Hong and Wesley Ducote, featuring music by Brahms, Janáček and Gershwin-Heifetz; leading The Orchestra Now as the concertmaster in Hudson Valley, New York; recording numerous virtual chamber music concerts, with the last production of 2021 celebrating Thailand National Day with the Royal Thai Embassy of Budapest. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, Ms. Lee participated in “Live from our Living Room”--a virtual concert series created and performed by New World Symphony Fellows for audiences at home. The musicians played live, informal chamber music concerts in a weekly series broadcasted live via Facebook.

 

2019 season highlights were Carnegie Hall tour with New World Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas featuring Yuja Wang; collaboration with Iberacademy in Medellin, Colombia in a week-long residency giving masterclasses and orchestral coachings; chamber music collaboration with St. Lawrence String Quartet at the Bank of America Chamber Music Series Spoleto Festival USA, as well as leading the festival orchestra as the concertmaster; an appearance at Artosphere Music Festival in Arkansas, Charleston Symphony in South Carolina; and  Solo recital at Sala Sudasiri Sobha in Bangkok, titled “Gratitude” with proceeds going towards the Gift of Life Foundation for blood disease patients. 

 

Winner of numerous awards and competitions, Ms Lee has been the winner of the Mannes Concerto Competition, first prize winner at the Beethoven National String Competition Thailand, and is a grant recipient from the New York Foundation for the Arts, Peter M. Gross Fund, and the Late Princess Galyani Vadhana Foundation. She made her New York debut at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in 2014, performing Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1, and her Bangkok debut performing Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in 2010 with Bangkok Charity Orchestra. 

 

A passionate orchestral musician, Ms. Lee performed as a guest with Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, Dubrovnik Symphony, Charleston Symphony to name a few. She has been a member of Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra since 2008, and a member of Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra. In the past seasons, she has performed under the batons of conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Charles Dutoit, Iván Fischer, Valery Gergiev, Manfred Honeck, Paavo Järvi, Zubin Mehta, Gianandrea Noseda, Esa­-Pekka Salonen, Antonio Pappano, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Michael Tilson Thomas, and many others. With various orchestras, Ms. Lee has performed throughout the world at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Koerner Hall, Maison Symphony de Montréal, Smetana Hall, Usher Hall, and major concert venues across Asia. Ms. Lee also served as concertmaster and principal for Oberlin Orchestra, Mannes Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra and New World Symphony.

 

Equally at home with repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary, Ms. Lee has played with such groups as the Oberlin Baroque Ensemble, Contemporary Music Ensemble, and while living in New York City, she served as concertmaster of the Mannes American Composer Ensemble (MACE) under the direction of Lowell Liebermann. She highly enjoys collaborating with and commissioning new music by living composers.

 

Born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, Yada Lee recently completed her orchestral fellowship at New World Symphony She holds a Master’s degree from Mannes School of Music and a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She received an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Her principal teachers include Paul Kantor, Barry Shiffman, Laurie Smukler and David Bowlin. Ms. Lee is also a keen opera lover and a fan of the Metropolitan Opera. 

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September 2022

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