Telephone: (843) 953-5195
Office: 314, Simons Center
E-mail: siowl@cofc.edu
Courses:
- Music Appreciation
- Repertory Class: Strings
- Ensemble: Chamber Music
- Applied Music: Violin
Web site: www.leechin.com
Lee-Chin Siow
Assistant Professor, Violin
Director of Strings
GOLD Medal winner of the 1994 Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition and First Prize winner of the 1994 Louise D. McMahon International Music competition for Strings, Lee - Chin is one of the most talked about young violinists today. She was hailed as “a violinist having superb control with tasteful flair . . . by Donald Rosenberg, Music Critic of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. She brought a silvery timbre and unpressured approach to Vaughan Williams’ haunting scenario. A rising star with powerful artistic temperament and electrifying technique, she is busy as a soloist as well as a reflective and virtuosic recitalist.
A seasoned performer, Lee - Chin has performed in over 20 countries on four continents. A frequent guest of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, she has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Avignon Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Symphony, the Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Syracuse Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, the Ohio Chamber, the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, and the United Philharmonic Orchestra of Vienna.
In 1994, the Prime Minister of Singapore presented Lee - Chin with the country’s highest Youth Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 1996, she was bestowed the “Young Artist Award” given by Singapore's National Art Council.
Other career highlights include concerto appearances and recitals at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, the Krannert Center, Symphony Hall in Osaka, Japan, the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall, KonzertHaus in Vienna, Austria, Petronas Concert Hall, Malaysia, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Canada and the Royal Albert Hall, UK. Lee-Chin has also performed in the Banff Music Festival, the Cervantino Festival, the Singapore Arts Festival, the Lucerne International Music Festival and the Ludwisburger International Music Festival. Her live performances have been broadcast on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS Sunday Morning), National Public Radio and on the Voice of America. In 1992, and 2000 she was honored and featured in two documentaries produced by the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation.
A native of Singapore, Lee - Chin began her violin studies at the age of seven under her musician father, Siow Hee Shun. An alumna of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Mannes College of Music, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, her teachers have included Roland and Almita Vamos, Felix Galimir, Jascha Brodsky and Aaron Roland. Passionate and committed to teaching, Lee-Chin has served on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory, given masterclasses and outreach programs all over the world including the University of Singapore, the Lisbon Academy of Music, the Chicago Institute of Music, the University of Montana, and Spoleto Study Abroad, among many others. Currently, Lee-Chin is the director of Strings and Professor of violin at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. Her private students have won the South Carolina Music Teachers State competitions (SCMTA) and soloed with the Charleston Symphony.
Lee - Chin performs on the violin made by J.B. Guadagnini of Milan, c.1750 made possible through the Violin Loan Program of the National Arts Council in Singapore. Visit her website at www.leechin.com.