Lee-Chin Siow

Associate Professor, Violin

Education

Performance/Recording Highlights

Praised by 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 Siow’s Gold Medal victory at the 1994 Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition launched her career as one of Singapore’s first soloists on the classical stage, wowing audiences in more than 20 countries across five continents from Carnegie Hall to Osaka Symphony Hall. Her performances have been viewed by millions on China Central TV, America’s CBS, National Public Radio, and Singapore’s MediaCorp.

Lauded by USA’s Fanfare Magazine for her ability to “seduce listeners…with just a few notes”, Lee-Chin touches audiences with her charismatic stage presence in intimate recitals as well as the grandest of stages.

As soloist, she has collaborated with renowned conductors and orchestras from the Royal Philharmonic and Danielle Gatti to the Houston Symphony and Andreas Delfs; as well as at major concert halls and festivals worldwide,  including the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK, the  Kennedy Center,  Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, Beijing Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall, Singapore's Esplanade Concert Hall, Hangzhou Grand Theatre, Vienna KonzertHaus, Petronas Concert Hall in Malaysia,  Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, Suzhou Arts and Culture Centre, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow; the Aspen Music Festival, Banff Music Festival, Cervantino Music Festival, Kansai International Performing Arts Festival, Lucerne International Music Festival, Music Fest Perugia, and Singapore Arts Festival. Lee-Chin has  performed in the presence of celebrities and dignitaries from Elton John to the President of Singapore.

In June 2015, she took centre stage performing at the South East Asian Games Opening Ceremony for an audience of more than 50,000 and reaching many more through web broadcasts.

Beginning her violin studies with her late father Siow Hee Shun, Lee-Chin traces her musical lineage all the way back to the legends of Eugène Ysaÿe, Henri Vieuxtemps and Henryk Wieniawkski through their disciples and her teachers at Curtis, Oberlin and Mannes: Aaron Rosand, Jascha Brodsky, Felix Galimir, Almita and Roland Vamos. Today, she continues their pedagogical tradition in her work with young people all over the world from Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music, Chicago Institute of Music, to the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and as violin professor at College of Charleston. Equally proud of her Asian origins, Lee-Chin bridges the East and West, personalizing familiar favorites with Asian motifs and introducing the music of Asian composers to the West. Recently, she performed the world premiere of “Air”, a piece specially written for her by acclaimed composer Yao Chen, to open Singapore’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in the 2015 City of London Festival.

Lee-Chin’s CD Songs My Father Taught Me topped HMV’s classical music charts 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.

Student Achievements

• Liu Tianyu:First Prize winner, National Level MTNA, 2020 U.S. Music Teachers’ National Association and a prestigious Kovner fellowship to the Julliard School of Music in 2021
• Dong Daoyi：Gold medal in 2015 Shanghai Conservatory Violin Competition
• Gloria Lee:  Finalist in 2016 Collegiate Virtuoso Concerto Competition 
• Jordan Elum: one of five students from South Carolina chosen for the 2012 National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, Washington DC
• Students admitted to prestigious schools including Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, Johns Hopkins University, University of Michigan, University of Cincinnati.
• Multiple top prize winners of South Carolina Music Teachers Association Competition
  
  

Courses Taught

MUSC 131 - Music Appreciation
MUSC 296 - Repertory Class: Violin
MUSC 355 - Chamber Music
MUSP 223 - Applied Music: Violin
MUSP 423 - Applied Music: Violin

Honors & Awards

• Gold medal, 1994 Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition
• Second Prize, 1996 Ima Hogg Houston Symphony Competition
• Excellence in the Arts, 1994 Singapore National Arts Council
• First Prize, 1994 Louise D. McMahon International Music Competition
• Young Artist Award, 1996 National Youth Council, Singapore
• Young Artists Award, 1990 Artists International Competition, New York
• Faculty of the year, 2010 College of Charleston
• Fellowship, 2012 South Carolina Arts Commission
• Meritorious Award, 2015 Composers and Authors Society of Singapore, for outstanding contribution to music
• Performance of the Year, 2019 Singapore Straits Times