Sang Mee Lee has warmed the hearts of audiences around the world and “dazzled listeners” ever since she began performing in her native Chicago at the age of three. From Europe to Asia and the United States, she has been called “the rising star to watch in the music world” (KBS) and “first among equals” (Boston Globe).
Among her professional accomplishments, Sang Mee has performed extensively in the United States as well as Europe and parts of Asia, both in recital and solo appearances with orchestra. Performances as soloist include multiple appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra and the Korean Broadcasting Symphony. She has also soloed with the Santa Cruz, Peninsula, Lake Forest and Evanston Symphonies. Across the country, she has participated in many festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, the Bowdoin Music Festival and the Highlands Chamber Music Festival.
A frequent chamber musician, Sang Mee has performed on the annual concert series at the Music Institute of Chicago. She also performs on several contemporary music series in Chicago, including Music For A While and the Four Score Festival, and has collaborated with members of new music ensembles ICE, Fulcrum Point, Anaphora and eighth blackbird. Sang Mee has been on the summer faculty at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in Tennessee, the West Branch International Music Festival and Academy, the Foulger Festival in Utah and on the chamber music faculty at Northwestern University.
Her many awards include first prizes at the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition, Irving M. Klein International String Auditions, Seventeen Magazine/General Motors Concerto Competition, William C. Byrd Competition and the Julius Stulberg Auditions and can be heard on recordings released by the Chicago-based record label Cedille Records.
Sang Mee has been on the violin and chamber music faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago since 2000, where she was newly appointed chair of the string department in 2013. She is also an honorary member of the International Music Fraternity of Delta Omicron. Sang Mee plays on a rare 1739 Carlo Bergonzi on loan to her from the Stradivari Society of Chicago.