Trey Lee

Trey Lee
李垂誼 (Chui-yee Lee)
BBS MH JP
Cellist Trey Lee
2014
Background information
Born
Hong Kong
GenresClassical
OccupationMusician
InstrumentCello
LabelsSignum Records
Websitetrey-lee.com Instagram

Trey Lee BBS MH JP (Chinese:李垂誼; pinyin: Lǐ Chuíyí) is a Hong Kong-born cellist based in Berlin, Germany. A laureate of major international competitions, he appears as a featured soloist with orchestras and festivals all over the world. He is the founding artistic director of Musicus Society and has spearheaded several music festivals such as the Musicus Fest[1] and the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival.[2]

Early life

Lee was born in Hong Kong into a musical family. His mother attended the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing for piano and his two sisters attended the Juilliard School in New York City to study piano and violin. Lee spent much of his youth studying in the United States.[3]

Education

Lee first graduated from the Juilliard School Pre-College Division, and then went on to graduate from Harvard University with an AB in Economics. He continued his musical studies at New England Conservatory for his master's degree, later furthering his education in Europe at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Spain and the Cologne Musikhochschule in Germany. His teachers include Frans Helmerson, Laurence Lesser and Ardyth Alton.

Career

After graduating from Harvard University, Lee spent one year working as a management consultant at Parthenon (now EY) before continuing his musical education and pursuing a musical career.[3] His debut at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage won him a standing ovation, with New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini declaring him “the excellent cellist…with enveloping richness and lyrical sensitivity”[4]. His performance in Seasons Interrupted, his 2024 album, was praised by BBC Music Magazine as “an exquisite delivery of the melody” with “an intoxicating intimacy”[5].

Lee appears at major venues worldwide, between 2024 and 2025 at the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts, London’s Cadogan Hall, Milan’s Duomo, Paris’s Salle Gaveau, Vienna’s Golden Hall Musikverein, Warsaw’s La Folle Journée, amongst others.

Lee has worked with well-known conductors, composers and orchestras worldwide, such as Lorin Maazel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yuri Bashmet, Leonard Slatkin, Hannu Lintu, Lü Jia, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Vassily Sinaisky, Dima Slobodeniouk, Yan Huichang, Mikko Franck; the Philharmonics of BBC, Hong Kong, Netherlands and Radio France, Detroit Symphony, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Sinfonia Varsovia, English Chamber Orchestra, Mantua Chamber Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra, Cameristi della Scala and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.

He is often invited as a featured artist at major events around the world, including a concert initiated by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations General Assembly Hall, alongside conductor Lu Jia, composer Tan Dun, and coloratura soprano Sumi Jo; and the first China tours of Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin[6] and Beethoven Orchestra Bonn under Stefan Blunier. In 2014, he was invited for the launch of The IMAGINE Project at the UN General Assembly Hall with Yoko Ono, Hugh Jackman and ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.[7] In 2020, Lee performed in a fundraising concert for anti-apartheid and human rights activist Denis Goldberg and his House of Hope Foundation in South Africa.[8]

Lee has given world premieres of Kirmo Lintinen’s Cello Concerto (2010) and Bright Sheng’s The Blazing Mirage (2012), both dedicated to him. He was also featured as a soloist in the world premiere of Seung-Won Oh’s Umbra, a double concerto for cello, Ondes Martenot and string orchestra (2024).[9]

As a multi-faceted artist, Lee has re-arranged Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, first performed with the Trondheim Soloists in 2018. He also co-arranged Wang Liping’s The Dream of the Red Chamber Capriccio, which was premiered by Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Lee plays on the 1703 "Comte de Gabriac" cello by Venetian master maker Matteo Goffriller.

TV

In 2004, Lee was featured in Radio Television Hong Kong's TV documentary Outstanding Young Chinese Musicians alongside pianists Lang Lang and Yundi Li.[10] In 2011, Lee also appeared on a Phoenix Television global live broadcast concert with the China National Symphony Orchestra at the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts. In 2020, Lee recorded an exclusive concert for Deutsche Welle during the Covid lockdown.[11]

Honors and awards

Lee is a laureate of multiple major international competitions, including First Prize at the 2004 International Antonio Janigro Cello Competition. Prior to winning the Antonio Janigro competition, he won major prizes at New York's Naumburg Competition and Helsinki's International Paulo Competition.[12][13]

Lee was appointed a UNICEF Hong Kong Ambassador since 2012.[14]

Discography

Collaborating with EMI, Naxos and Signum Records, Lee has released several albums and was a featured soloist on the original score recording for the German-Taiwan-Hong Kong co-produced film The Drummer, which was in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008.[15][16]

Lee's discography includes:

Year Album Details Label
2004 Trey Lee[17] Performed with pianists Megumi Hashiba and Jarkko Riihimäki EMI Classics
2006 Schumann, Mendelssohn, & Chopin[18] Performed with pianist Noreen Cassidy-Polera EMI Classics
2007 The Drummer 戰‧鼓, Original Film Score[19] EMI Classics
2014 Bright Sheng: The Blazing Mirage[20] Performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic led by Bright Sheng Naxos
2018 The Dream of the Red Chamber and Other Works by Wang Liping[21] A collection of works by Wang Liping
2024 Seasons Interrupted[22] Performed with English Chamber Orchestra Signum Records

Musicus Society

Lee co-founded Musicus Society in 2010 with his sister Chui-Inn Lee. It is a charitable organization based in Hong Kong with the mission of promoting cross-cultural collaboration through music.[23] In 2013, he co-founded Musicus Fest, an annual international music festival; and in 2022, he founded Musicus Soloists Hong Kong, an ensemble comprising young emerging string players from Hong Kong, as the group’s artistic director.[24]

References

  1. ^ "'Elite' string ensemble a showcase for Hong Kong's musical talent, says founder Trey Lee". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  2. ^ "'Art has the ability to make one look at the world from a different perspective' - cellist Trey Lee". The Strad. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b Chou, Oliver (November 22, 2014). "My life: Trey Lee Chui-yee". scmp.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  4. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (2009-11-01). "Everyone's a Drummer for This Hybrid Group". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  5. ^ Talbot, Jo (July 2024). "BBC Music Magazine". BBC Music Magazine. p. 77. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Men of Hope". Men of Hope Awards. Archived from the original on 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  7. ^ Blundy, Rachel. "Hong Kong-born cellist brings cultural diversity to classical music festival". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Help the Denis Goldberg House of Hope!". Go Get Funding. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  9. ^ Seung-Won (2025-04-04). "Umbra, from Salle Gaveau Paris". Seung-Won Oh - Composer. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  10. ^ Tse, Sunny. "Strings to his bow". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  11. ^ DW Classical Music (2020-05-23). Trey Lee: private concert against the corona blues. Retrieved 2026-02-02 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ "Cultural feast at Concert Hall". Shenzhen Daily. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Hong Kong Cellist Chui-Yee Lee Becomes the First Chinese to Win 1st Prize at the International Antonio JanigroCompetition". HK Arts Festival. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Internationally renowned cellist Mr Trey Lee was appointed as UNICEF HK Ambassador, promoting child rights through classical music to special school students Get Trey's latest limited edition album by sharing on UNICEF HK social media platforms! | Latest News | News | Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF | For every child". www.unicef.org.hk. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  15. ^ Farber, Stephen. "The Drummer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  16. ^ "The Drummer Full Cast & Crew". IMDB. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Trey Lee". Apple Music. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Schumann, Mendelssohn, & Chopin". Apple Music. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  19. ^ "戰鼓.The Drummer". Douban. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  20. ^ "B. Sheng: The Blazing Mirage". Apple Music. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  21. ^ "The Dream of the Red Chamber & Other works by Wang Liping". Yesasia. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Album: Seasons Interrupted". signumrecords.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  23. ^ May, Thomas. "Postcard from Hong Kong: Musicus Fest". The Strad. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Musicus Fest Celebrates a Dynamic Decade with Eleven Concerts Throughout Hong Kong". www.musicussociety.org. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trey_Lee_Chui-yee