Name: Gabriel Lee Instrument(s): Violin Location: Singapore Website: www.gableeviolin.com
Background:
Singaporean violinist Gabriel Lee enjoys a multi-faceted career: he performs in diverse sound worlds with his baroque and modern violins, and builds new frontiers in the Southeast Asian musical landscape as a music educator and entrepreneur. His playing has been described as having a “breathtaking intensity, grabbing listeners by the lapels without letting go” and “a passion and concentration that was hard to surpass” (The Straits Times).
Gabriel has performed solo recitals in the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, and Myanmar, and has been featured as a soloist with the Baltimore Baroque Band, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Red Dot Baroque, Resound Collective, Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Music Makers, Malaysia Bach Festival, Jakarta Festival Orchestra, PSPA International Ensemble, Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra, and the Peabody Conductor’s Orchestra.
As a music educator, Gabriel constantly seeks to innovate and incorporate technology in his teaching, and has published and presented research in the Australian and New Zealand Viola Society Journal, Australian Strings Association’s Stringendo Magazine, Juilliard Symposium, ABRSM Music Teacher Conference, and the Performer’s Present International Artistic Research Symposium. He is currently Adjunct Faculty at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and the School of the Arts, Managing Director of the SEA Music Academy Online, Founder and Director of the Music Society of Myanmar, and has conducted masterclasses and coached various ensembles in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Cambodia. As a competition adjudicator, Gabriel has served on the jury of the Alessandro Giuliani Violin Competition, Euroasia Strings Competition, NAFA Concerto Competition, and Asia Arts Festival.
Gabriel has received various awards and scholarships, including the JC Van Hulsteyn Award in Violin and the Paul Abisheganaden Grant for Artistic Excellence. He graduated with two Master of Music degrees in Violin Performance and Baroque Violin Performance from the Peabody Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music (Hons) degree from YSTCM as Valedictorian of his cohort.
Greatest inspiration:
American violinist, Hilary Hahn
Favorite place to perform:
YST Conservatory of Music Concert Hall YST Conservatory of Music’s Concert Hall
Live Performance:
Teaching Demo: Learn with Gabe: 3 Tips for Double Stop Thirds (Violin/Viola)
Teaching Setup:
What’s great about teaching on Forte?
I like that Forte prioritizes the audio, and that the sound is a lot closer to the true sound in the room compared to other platforms.
Tell us a bit about your teaching style:
I aim to help each student develop an individual voice through critical thinking, developing an ear for harmony, and building a solid foundation for mastery of the violin through a thoughtfully curated progression of etudes, concerti, showpieces, and sonatas. Students equipped with these skills will then have the confidence to learn independently, and pursue a lifelong passion for the violin.
Tell us what you like most about your experience as a music educator:
Working with young people keeps me young! It’s greatly satisfying to see my students grow not just musically, but also in character and in the way they solve problems.
A piece of repertoire I love to teach:
Bach’s Partitas and Sonatas for Solo violin
A piece of repertoire I love to play:
Glazunov Violin Concerto
Fun fact:
Gabriel can play violin and juggle a soccer ball with his feet at the same time!
In the artist’s own words:
“Music is a reflection of life – to make rich music we need to keep living life, exploring new experiences and continually be inspired!”
