top of page

VIOLIN

SANG MEE LEE

The David & Marty Lux Chair

At the age of five, Chicago native Sang Mee Lee debuted as soloist with the Chicago Businessman's Orchestra and has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorf, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra under Emmanuel Krivine, and the Korean Broadcasting Orchestra under Eun-Sung Park. Her solo performances and recitals have been heard in the United States and in Europe and the Far East. Here in Chicago, she is the youngest artist to appear on the Dame Myra Hess Series and has performed on Ravinia Rising Stars.

Her many awards include First-prize winner of 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. Recently, as part of the Beethoven Project Trio, Sang Mee performed previously unknown chamber works of Beethoven, including a world premiere and two American premieres.

 

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Sang Mee earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in violin performance. Her past teachers and mentors have included Dorothy DeLay, Roland and Almita Vamos, Robert Lipsett, Josef Gingold, and Betty Haag. Currently residing in the Chicago area, Sang Mee has been on faculty at the Music Institute of Chicago since 2000, where she also serves as chair of the string department.

Azusa headshot.jpeg

VIOLIN
Azusa Tashiro
The Bassill Family Chair

Azusa Tashiro is a violinist based in the Chicago area. She is a Concertmaster of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and holds positions at the South Bend Symphony Orchestra as an Assistant Concertmaster, and the Rockford Symphony Orchestra as a Principal Second Violinist. Azusa is the winner of the first place and audience prize from the Plowman Chamber Music Competition. Her passion for chamber music isn’t limited to traditional classical music repertoire. She was the violinist of the Petar Jankovic Ensemble, a unique chamber ensemble group made up of a string quartet led by a classical guitar. With them, Azusa widely toured in the US and abroad, and released a CD “(Com) Passionate” in 2014.

bottom of page