Kristin Lee
Sean Lee
Mihai Marica
Richard O’Neill
Gloria Chien
String Theory, in partnership with Lee University and the Hunter Museum of American Art, will continue its seventh season with a concert on Thursday, Feb. 25, at 6:30 p.m., featuring the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on Tour, the largest chamber music organization in the world.
Founded in 2009 by Artistic Director Gloria Chien, String Theory brings acclaimed chamber musicians from around the world to perform in the intimate setting of the Hunter Museum.
The group consists of Kristin Lee, violin; Sean Lee, violin; Mihai Marica, cello; Richard O’Neill, viola; and Dr. Chien, piano. The evening’s program will include Mozart’s “Piano Trio in E major, K.542,” and Korngold’s “Piano Quintet, Op. 15.”
Prior to the concert, “Musical Dialogues” will take place at 6 p.m. from the concert stage and will feature an in-depth conversation, led by Dr. Chien, with the evening’s performers on their lives, inspirations, and the masterpieces being performed at the concert.
Kristin Lee has performed concertos with orchestras throughout the United States and abroad, performing recitals at Ravinia’s Rising Stars Series, the Salon de Virtuosi at Steinway Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre in Paris, the Kumho Art Gallery in Korea, and throughout northern Italy. She has a vibrant career as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She earned her master’s degree from The Juilliard School in 2010, is an artist of the CMS, a former member of CMS Two, and currently on the faculty at the Aaron Copland School of Music in Queens College.
Sean Lee’s debut album featuring the Strauss Violin Sonata reached the top 20 of the iTunes “Top Classical Albums” list. His performances have been described by the New York Times as “breathtakingly beautiful,” and he has received prizes in the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. A member of CMS Two, he has performed with the CMS of Lincoln Center in Alice Tully Hall, as well as on tour at the LG Arts Center in Seoul, Korea, the St. Cecilia Music Center, and the Naumberg Bandshell in Central Park. He currently teaches chamber music at the pre-college division of The Juilliard School and is on the violin faculty of the Perlman Music Program.
Mr. Marica is a first prize winner of the “Dr. Luis Sigall” International Competition in Chile and the Irving M. Klein International Competition, and is a recipient of Charlotte White’s Salon de Virtuosi Fellowship Grant. A member of the award-winning Amphion String Quartet, Mr. Marica has appeared at the Chamber Music Northwest, Norfolk, and Aspen music festivals. He earned degrees from the Yale School of Music and is a member of CMS Two. His three-year residency is supported by the Winston Foundation.
Mr. O’Neill is an Emmy award winner, two-time Grammy nominee, and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient. He has recorded eight solo albums that have sold more than 150,000 copies. Mr. O’Neill has recently performed at the Louvre, with Gidon Kremer, with Kremerata Baltica and the Hiroshima Symphony, and at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games. He serves as Goodwill Ambassador for the Korean Red Cross, the Special Olympics, and UNICEF. An artist of the CMS, he is also a former member of CMS Two.
Dr. Chien, who currently serves as an artist-in-residence at Lee University, is a prize winner of the World Piano Competition and the San Antonio International Piano Competition. She was appointed the Director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival and institute in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been a member of the Chamber Music Society (CMS) of Lincoln Center since 2012, and now frequently plays at Alice Tully Hall in New York, as well as other venues around the country with CMS on Tour. Chien has been praised by “The Strad” for “super performances… accompanied with great character.”
Individual tickets for the concert are $30 for Hunter members, $40 for non-members, $10 for students with a valid student ID and $25 for groups of 20 or more people.
For more information on String Theory at the Hunter or to purchase tickets, call 267-0968 or visit www.stringtheorymusic.org.