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"Lee can hold his own with any of the world's top bassists."--Musical America
Described as "a true virtuoso" by legendary pianist Gary Graffman and praised by the New York Times for his "deft and virtuosic solo performance" at his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall, double bassist Owen Lee has earned acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician and since 1996, at the age of 26, as Principal Bass of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Lee is heard regularly as a soloist with orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Paavo Jarvi and Jesus Lopez-Cobos, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under John Harbison, and the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson-Thomas in Miami and on tour to New York's Lincoln Center. In March 2007, Mr. Lee, conductor Olari Elts and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (which co-commissioned the work along with the International Society of Bassists Consortium) performed the world premier of the "Soloist Tuning" version of John Harbison's 2005 Bass Concerto.
Mr. Lee's prizes in competitions include First Prize at the 1995 International Society of Bassists Competition and Fourth Prize at the 1992 Irving M. Klein International String Competition in San Francisco. He has been presented in recitals throughout the United States, and in Geneva.
Mr. Lee has recorded the Misek Sonata No.2 and Bach Suites No.3 and No.5 for Boston Records. American Record Guide praised this disc for its "tasteful phrasing, polish and verve" while The Strad wrote "Owen Lee is a fine player with strong musical ideas. A dark and austere sound is produced for Suite No.5 and the architecture of each suite is carefully considered and shaped. I look forward to his next recording." Mr. Lee can also be heard on all of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's numerous recordings for Telarc since 1996, most notably the prominent bass solos in Prokofiev's Lt. Kije Suite, Shostakovich's 15th Symphony, Mahler's 10th Symphony and Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.
Mr. Lee's extensive international chamber music experience includes three summers as the bassist of the Marlboro Festival. While there, he performed with such artists as Richard Stoltzman, Midori, Nobuko Imai, Bruno Canino, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and members of the Beaux Arts Trio, Guarneri Quartet and Juilliard Quartet. He also collaborated with composers Gyorgy Kurtag, Leon Kirchner and Richard Danielpour preparing performances of those composers' works.
Mr. Lee has also performed with the Tokyo String Quartet on tour to Mexico, the Miami and Miro Quartets, Yefim Bronfman, John Browning, Jaime Laredo, Ida Kavafian, Eugenia Zukerman, the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, New York Chamber Soloists, Vermont Mozart Festival, Mainly Mozart Festival, Ojai Festival, Chamber Music L.A. Festival, and on tour throughout China. With the Rossetti String Quartet he performed the world premier of Melinda Wagner's Concertino at the 2005 Bravo! Vail Festival. In Cincinnati, Mr. Lee is also the longtime bassist of Linton Music and Concert:nova.
In Spring 2007, Mr. Lee was profiled in a cover story in England's Double Bassist magazine.
Mr. Lee was born in Berkeley, California to Chinese parents. He began playing double bass at age 15 after previous study of piano and bass guitar. A graduate of the University of Southern California, where he studied both Music and Russian Literature, Mr. Lee's principal teachers were Dennis Trembly, Edwin Barker and Paul Ellison. Having performed much chamber music with Guarneri Quartet founding cellist David Soyer, as well as hearing him in countless concerts and recordings, Mr. Lee credits Mr. Soyer as his greatest influence and inspiration.
In addition to his performing career, Mr. Lee teaches at Northern Kentucky University and has taught masterclasses at Curtis, Juilliard, Yale, National Orchestral Institute, New World Symphony and Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. In addition to his position with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Lee serves as Principal Bass of the Vermont Mozart Festival, Co-Principal Bass of the Shanghai Festival Orchestra, and has served as Guest Principal Bass of the Hong Kong Philharmonic and as a guest musician with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. During the summer of 2007, he performed the complete cycle of Beethoven's Nine Symphonies with Paavo Jarvi and Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen at Montreal's Lanaudiere Festival, Chicago's Ravinia Festival and New York's Mostly Mozart Festival.
Owen is married to CiCi Lee. He enjoys snowboarding, auto repair and playing drums and writing songs with his rock band Toe www.myspace.com/toerocks.
Owen's website is www.myspace.com/owenleedoublebass.
Owen can be contacted at snoopylinus@aol.com
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