Oct. 26: Violinist Kristin Lee and Pianist Jun Cho Perform American Sketches – Presented by The Phillips Collection
L-R Violinist Kristin Lee, Pianist Jun Cho
Violinist Kristin Lee and Pianist Jun Cho
Perform American Sketches in Washington D.C.
Presented by The Phillips Collection
Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 4pm
The Phillips Collection | 1600 21st Street NW | Washington, DC
Sold Out (Rush Tickets and Standby Tickets Only)
More Information
Kristin Lee: www.violinistkristinlee.com | Jun Cho: www.junchopiano.com
Washington DC – On Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 4pm, violinist Kristin Lee – praised in The Strad for her “elegance” and “vivacity and electric energy” – will perform with pianist Jun Cho in a concert presented by The Phillips Collection (1600 21st Street NW). Coinciding with The Phillips Collection’s exhibition Out of Many: Reframing an American Art Collection (November 8, 2025-February 15, 2026), the program features music from Kristin Lee’s debut solo album, American Sketches, released on First Hand Records last year.
Out of Many tells a dynamic story of how artists have imagined and depicted American identity. Like the exhibition, American Sketches presents a panoramic view of America’s musical landscape, reflecting the distinct and recognizable sound of American music and its rich history. The album and concert program also encompass Lee’s journey as an American as well as the journeys of the composers she has selected. The concert is part of Phillips Music, the museum’s renowned Sunday Concerts series, now in its 85th season. For over 80 years, Phillips Music has presented exceptional young musicians alongside an international roster of acclaimed performers in the intimate, art-filled setting of the museum’s Music Room. A cornerstone of Washington, DC’s classical music scene, the series continues to champion both classic repertoire and innovative new works.
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.”
For her American Sketches program at The Phillips Collection, Kristin Lee will perform Four Southland Sketches by H.T. Burleigh (1866-1949); Non-Poem 4 by Jonathan Ragonese (b.1989); Sonata No. 2 “Poeme Mystique” by Ernst Bloch (1880-1959); But Not For Me (arr. Jeremy Jordan) by George Gershwin (1898-1937); Lament (arr. Jeremy Jordan) by J.J. Johnson (1924-2001); The Entertainer (arr. Jeremy Jordan); by Scott Joplin (1868-1917); Romance by Amy Beach (1867-1944) and Fantasy on Themes from Porgy and Bess (arr. Frolov) by George Gershwin (1898-1937).
American Sketches 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.
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.
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 perform with pianist Jun Cho in American Sketches, a concert inspired by Lee’s debut album of the same title, which reflects the distinct and recognizable sound of American music and its rich history, encompassing both Lee’s journey as an American, as well as the journeys of the composers she selected. The concert, presented by The Phillips Collection, will include works by H.T. Burleigh, Jonathan Ragonese, Ernst Bloch, George Gershwin, J.J. Johnson, Scott Joplin; and Amy Beach.
Concert details:
Who: Violinist Kristin Lee and Pianist Jun Cho Presented by The Phillips Collection
What: American Sketches
When: Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 4pm
Where: The Phillips Collection 1600 21st Street NW, Washington DC, 20009
Tickets: Sold Out - Rush and Standby Tickets Only
More Information: www.phillipscollection.org/event/2025-10-26-kristin-lee-and-jun-cho