Violinist Shannon Lee has been praised for her “remarkable fire, impeccable intonation, and
big, vibrant tone” (Gramophone). She has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as the
Tokyo Symphony, Antwerp Symphony, Belgian National Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, and
New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Currently based in Amsterdam, Shannon is
active as a soloist and chamber musician across multiple continents. In 2023 the Fontec
label in Japan released a CD of Shannon’s dynamic recital program with pianist Jessica
Osborne, with works by composers including Bartók, Takemitsu, and Brahms. She also
forms a duo with violinist-violist Luosha Fang, and recently recorded an album with
composer-pianist Arseniy Gusev for the Azica Records label in the United States. As a
chamber musician, she has played at Creative Dialogue France, Krzyżowa-Music in Poland,
Music@Menlo in California, Yale University’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and Heifetz
International Music Institute, where she was Artist-in-Residence and teaching assistant. In
addition to teaching privately, Shannon directs Chamber Music Perspectives Workshop, a
one-week summer exploration of both chamber music and composition for advanced young
string players in the Dallas-Fort-Worth area.
Born in Canada, Shannon began playing the violin at age four in Plano, Texas. She studied
for many years with Jan Mark Sloman, then Principal Associate Concertmaster of the Dallas
Symphony Orchestra. Shannon made her solo debut at the age of twelve with the Dallas
Symphony, and two years later performed in Germany with the Nuremberg Philharmonic.
In 2008 she made her debut recording for Telarc International, “Introducing Shannon Lee,”
featuring 19th and 20th century works with pianist Pamela Mia Paul.
Since 2018 she won prizes in several international competitions, such as top prize at the
Sendai Competition in Japan, 4th prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium,
co-winner in the Shanghai Isaac Stern Competition, Laureate/Ysaÿe Prize at the
Indianapolis Competition, and 2nd place at the Naumburg Competition in New York City.
She has also been a recipient of the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award for career development.
Shannon moved to the Netherlands for an artist certificate program with Vera Beths at
Conservatorium van Amsterdam, adding side studies in baroque violin with Shunske Sato
and music composition with Willem Jeths. Previously she was in the joint studio of Jaime
Laredo and Jan Sloman at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was the recipient of
the inaugural Mary Hamlin Memorial Presidential Scholarship as well as an
Artist-in-Residence at Judson Manor , curating and performing monthly recitals for their
retired residents. In Philadelphia, she received a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music
as a student of Ida Kavafian and Arnold Steinhardt. Shannon completed her Bachelor’s
degree in computer science from Columbia University while taking violin lessons with
David Nadien, formerly concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic with Leonard
Bernstein. Shannon performs on a violin made in 1902 by Enrico Rocca, generously on loan
from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.
