March 15: Violinist Kristin Lee is Featured Soloist with the Olympia Symphony in Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons Conducted by Rei Hotoda

Photo by Lauren Desberg available in hi-resolution at www.jensenartists.com/artists-profiles/kristin-lee

Violinist Kristin Lee
is Featured Soloist with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Rei Hotoda
in Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons

Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 3pm
Capital High School Performing Arts Center | 2707 Conger Avenue NW | Olympia, WA
Tickets & Information

Kristin Lee: www.violinistkristinlee.com

Olympia, WA – Violinist Kristin Lee – praised in The Strad for her “elegance” and “vivacity and electric energy” – is presented in concert with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 3pm conducted by Rei Hotoda, who makes her debut with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra in this performance. Lee is the featured soloist in Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons The concert program, titled Transform, also includes Metamorphosen by Richard Strauss. The performance will take place in Capital High School Performing Arts Center (2707 Conger Avenue NW). Lee last performed with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra in 2024.

A violinist of remarkable versatility and impeccable technique, Kristin Lee enjoys a vibrant career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, and artistic director. “Her technique is flawless, and she has a sense of melodic shaping that reflects an artistic maturity,” writes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Strad reports, “She seems entirely comfortable with stylistic diversity, which is one criterion that separates the run-of-the-mill instrumentalists from true artists.”

Through both her work as a classical soloist, and her role as the Artistic Director of Emerald City Music – a chamber music series that presents authentically unique concert experiences and bridges the divide between the highest caliber classical music and the many diverse communities of the Puget Sound region of Washington State – Lee has embraced works that showcase diversity of styles, composers, and time periods. Her adventurousness with programming and curation make this performance of Max Richter’s contemporary reimagining of Vivaldi’s iconic Four Seasons a perfect demonstration of Lee’s appreciation of the traditional classical canon and music from the modern era. Richter’s work blends the past and the present, and is performed in celebration of the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s original.

“I am delighted to return as soloist with the Olympia Symphony, particularly as we celebrate the 300th anniversary of the publication of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Max Richter’s reimagining of this beloved masterpiece pays profound tribute to its history while infusing it with relevant creativity. I am deeply grateful to take part in this special performance and look forward to sharing this unique musical experience with our Olympia audience.”

Performing on a violin crafted in Italy in 1759 by Gennaro Gagliano, in addition to her solo appearances, Kristin Lee tours throughout the world as a member of New York’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, including in Italy, Croatia, Germany, Taiwan, and across the U.S. Always up for adventure, at the Moab Music Festival in Utah, Lee has performed in such unexpected places as rafting down the Colorado River, in a natural rock grotto, and in the magical landscape of the red rock canyons of the area.

Other highlights of Lee’s 2025-2026 season include her Carnegie Hall recital debut performing American Sketches, a program curated by Lee as a celebration of the diversity of styles and cultures found in American music, as well as a symbol of Lee’s appreciation of and pride in the U.S., which she has long called her home. Lee will also perform with GRAMMY®-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion in the world premiere of a new work by Vivan Fung, which is part of a special all-premiere concert presented by Emerald City Music as part of its 10th Anniversary Season. In addition, she performs as the featured soloist with the Nu-Deco Ensemble in A Reimagined Vivaldi Four Seasons, arranged by Sam Hyken, in another performance highlighting the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s timeless work.

Kristin Lee’s debut solo album, American Sketches – released in summer 2024 on the First Hand Records – embraces the beauty of cultural diversity in the U.S. The album has a personal resonance for Lee. A native of Seoul, Korea, she emigrated to the U.S. at the age of seven. During her childhood, playing the violin was a refuge from bullying and racism for Kristin – she moved to the U.S. not speaking any English, and felt the violin became her voice. As a foreign-born citizen of the U.S., Lee was compelled to select repertoire for the album that would express her pride in the country she now calls her own. She has recorded works by American composers including Amy Beach, George Gershwin, Theolonius Monk, Scott Joplin, and more, that have a distinct and recognizable sound of American music and its rich history.

As a soloist, Kristin Lee has appeared with leading orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Hawai’i Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Ural Philharmonic of Russia, Korean Broadcasting Symphony, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra of China, and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Dominican Republic. She has performed on the world’s finest concert stages, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ravinia Festival, the Louvre Museum, the Phillips Collection, and Korea’s Kumho Art Gallery. In 2026, she makes her solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall performing her program American Sketches with pianist John Novacek. An accomplished chamber musician, Kristin Lee is a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, performing regularly in New York at Lincoln Center and on tour. In addition to her prolific performance career, Lee is a devoted educator. She has served on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and she has also been in residence with the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, the El Sistema Chamber Music Festival of Venezuela, and is a summer faculty member at Music@Menlo’s Chamber Music Institute. Lee is also the founding artistic director of Emerald City Music (ECM), a chamber music series that presents authentically unique concert experiences and bridges the divide between the highest caliber classical music and the many diverse communities of the Puget Sound region of Washington State.

Kristin Lee’s honors include an Avery Fisher Career Grant, top prizes in the Walter W. Naumburg Competition and the Astral Artists National Auditions, and awards from the Trondheim Chamber Music Competition, Trio di Trieste Premio International Competition, the SYLFF Fellowship, Dorothy DeLay Scholarship, the Aspen Music Festival’s Violin Competition, the New Jersey Young Artists’ Competition, and the Salon de Virtuosi Scholarship Foundation.

Born in Seoul, Lee moved to the United States and studied under prestigious teachers including Sonja Foster, Catherine Cho, Dorothy DeLay, Donald Weilerstein, and Itzhak Perlman. Lee holds a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School. Lee’s violin was crafted in Naples, Italy in 1759 by Gennaro Gagliano and is generously loaned to her by Paul & Linda Gridley.

For more information, visit www.violinistkristinlee.com.

For Calendar Editors:

Description: Violinist Kristin Lee, praised in The Strad for her “elegance” and “vivacity and electric energy,” will be the featured soloist with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Alexandra Arrieche. Lee will perform Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons. The program, titled Transform, also includes Metamorphosen by Richard Strauss.

Concert details:

Who: Violinist Kristin Lee
Soloist with Olympia Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Rei Hotoda
What: Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
When: Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 3pm
Where: Capital High School Performing Arts Center 2707 Conger Avenue NW Olympia, WA 98502
Tickets and information: https://www.olympiasymphony.org/march-15-transform