Catherina Lee
ViolinistBased in Vienna, Austria
From Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Catherina Lee is one of the most gifted and promising violinists to have emerged from Queensland, Australia. She is described as possessing exceptional musicianship with a unique charm, poignancy, and sensitivity that place her in a league of her own. Leading conductor Marin Alsop recently commented, “I am hugely impressed. Catherina is a beautiful violinist and musician.”
Catherina gave her first public recital at 9, debuting with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra at 13, performing Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. At 15, she was accepted into the class of renowned violinist and teacher Gerhard Schulz, a former member of the famed Alban Berg Quartet at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Catherina was the first candidate to pass the gruelling requirements of the ‘Solo Profile’ for her master's degree, graduating with distinction. Subsequently, she was selected to be mentored by Internationally renowned soloist Janine Jansen in Sion, Switzerland.
In 2023, Catherina plans engagements as a soloist and chamber musician at the Oberösterreichische Stiftskonzerte, Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Junge Philharmonie Wien, and Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra. Following Steven Isserlis’s recommendation, Catherina was invited to be a Fellow at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Nova Scotia, where she will spend several weeks working and performing with artists Gidon Kremer, Kim Kashkashian and Steven Isserlis.
A commanding and sensitive chamber musician, Catherina has appeared with Steven Isserlis, Kim Kashkashian, Philippe Graffin, Wilfried Strehle, Justus Grimm, Rick Stotijn, David Waterman, Garfield Jackson and Hyungki Joo. Her 2020 collaboration with composer Thomas Larcher on his piece 'Madhares' followed with its performance at the Ernen Festival.
As a soloist, she has performed with numerous orchestras throughout Europe and Australia, including Göttinger Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Queensland Symphony, Camerata - Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Ensemble, Wiener Akademische Philharmoniker, Junge Philharmonie Wien, and Camerata Orphica Festival Orchestra. Her recent solo debut at the Konzerthaus in Vienna was described as an outstanding success.
Her work is supported by masterclasses from several leading musicians, including Steven Isserlis, Serguei Azizian, Ivry Gitlis, Boris Brovtsyn, Ivan Straus, Johannes Meissl, Nikolaj Szeps- Znaider, Michael Frischenschlager, Jean Jacques Kantorow, Ilya Gringolts, Johannes Meissl, Pavel Vernikov, Jennifer Stumm, Reka Szilvay, and Erich Gruenberg.
Catherina plays on a GB Guadagnini, Turin c1771, generously on loan by a private sponsor.
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