Biography

Violinist Shannon Lee has been praised for her “remarkable fire, impeccable intonation, and big, vibrant tone” (Gramophone). She has won prizes in several international competitions, such as top prize and audience award at the Sendai Competition in Japan, 4th prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium, co-winner in the 2020 Shanghai Isaac Stern Competition, 2nd place at the Naumburg Competition in New York City, and Laureate/Ysaÿe Sonata prize at the Indianapolis Competition. Shannon also received generous support from the Sylva Gelber Foundation in Canada through their Award for career development. She has appeared as soloist with the Tokyo Symphony, Antwerp Symphony, Belgian National Orchestra, and New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Her festival appearances as a chamber musician include Creative Dialogue France, Krzyżowa-Music, Music@Menlo, Music From Angel Fire, and Heifetz International Music Institute, where she was Artist-in-Residence and teaching assistant for Jan Mark Sloman. In 2016-17 she was a founding member of Bicycle String Trio, performing at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and Avaloch Farm Music Institute.

Born in Canada, Shannon began playing the violin at age four in Plano, Texas, with Ann Grosshans and Paul Landefeld. In the following ten years she studied with Jan Mark Sloman, then Principal Associate Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and director of The Institute for Strings. She made her solo debut at the age of twelve with the Dallas Symphony, and two years later performed in Germany with Maestro Christof Perick and the Nuremberg Philharmonic. In 2008 she made her debut recording for Telarc International, “Introducing Shannon Lee,” featuring 19th and 20th century works with pianist Pamela Mia Paul.

Shannon is currently based in the Netherlands as the artist certificate candidate at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Vera Beths. Previously she was in the joint studio of Jaime Laredo and Jan Sloman at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was the recipient of the inaugural Mary Hamlin Memorial Presidential Scholarship as well as the Starling Foundation Scholarship. She was an Artist-in-Residence at Judson Manor from 2020-22, curating and performing monthly recitals for their retired residents. In Philadelphia, she received a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music as a student of Ida Kavafian and Arnold Steinhardt, and completed a fellowship year of service teaching for Cramp Elementary School and the All-City Orchestra. Shannon completed her Bachelor’s degree in computer science from Columbia University while taking violin lessons with David Nadien, formerly concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic with Leonard Bernstein. Shannon performs on a violin made in 1902 by Enrico Rocca, on loan by the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.