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Bio

Paul Lee is an active performer and a music education advocate to the younger generation of musicians. His career has taken him to perform in the USA, United Kingdom, Italy and New Zealand where he has performed on famous stages such as Cadogan Hall, St John Smith Square, Snape Maltings, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, Oxford University, Auckland Town Hall, Christchurch Town Hall and the Michael Fowler Centre.

Paul’s orchestral experience includes being a cellist with Southbank Sinfonia and highlights was being Principal Cello under the baton of Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Gabriella Teychenne, Chloe van Soeterstede, Owain Park and Adam Hickox. During his time with Southbank Sinfonia he has worked with the Royal Opera House, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment as well as collaborating with members from Allegri Quartet, London Mozart Players and Berkeley Ensemble. He also won the job at Christchurch Symphony in 2021 and became the Acting Associate Principal Cello from 2022 onwards. He was also Principal Cellist of the San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra, Brixton Chamber Orchestra, Bushey Symphony Orchestra, Wallace Chamber Orchestra, University of Auckland Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Chamber Ensemble and the Auckland Youth Orchestra. He has also had opportunities to perform as Sub Principal with British Sinfonietta, Berkeley Symphony as guest Associate Principal, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the Manukau Symphony Orchestra. He has performed under the baton of Edwin Outwater, Martin West, Benjamin Northey, Zoe Zeniodi, Brad Cohen and has recorded for labels such as BMG, Navona, RNZ and Classical KDFC.

Being a graduate from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music he has obtained a Master of Music degree in Cello Performance under the tutelage of Jean-Michel Fonteneau. Paul received his Bachelor of Music (Honours) from the University of Auckland studying under Edith Salzmann and Eliah Sakakushev von-Bismarck. He also considers Amos Yang, Assistant Principal Cello of the San Francisco Symphony as his mentor.

During his studies he was awarded scholarships including the University of Auckland Cello Bursary Scholarship, Terry Spragg Scholarship and the San Francisco Conservatory Scholarship. Paul, who has always been intrigued in learning new aspects of music has performed in masterclasses with pianists Ekaterina Dershavina, David Dolan, Caroline Almonte and cellists Peter Hoerr, Mark Kosower, Ole Akahoshi, Eric Kim, Nicholas Tzavaras, and Tim Gill.

As an eager chamber musician, Paul has collaborated with many internationally-recognized artists which include violinists Jonathan Morton, Clio Gould, Elisabeth Kufferath and cellists Peter Hoerr, Ramon Jaffe and Alvin Wong. While playing alongside these professionals he was able to perform as the second cello and the cello leader in a chamber orchestra playing works from Brahm’s Sextet and Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night. In chamber music, he has worked extensively with Bonnie Hampton, Dimitri Murrath, Ian Swensen, Paul Hersh, Simon James and the Telegraph String Quartet. He was an invited guest to perform alongside the cello members of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra as part of their sanctuary concerts and also a member of the Auckland Cellists.

He has also performed at music festivals such as Anghiari Festvial in Italy, London Festival of Baroque Music, International Akaroa Music Festival and the International Society of Contemporary Music and Asian Composer’s League where he was part of a string trio that performed compositions that were awarded 1st and 2nd prize. He has toured under Chamber Music New Zealand performing Max Richter’s Vivaldi Four Seasons with JOLT dance group. He is the founding member of both, Nikau Trio, who have been selected to Arts On Tour in 2023 and Arvida String Quartet, select few as performers for the prestigious Christopher Classics concert series in 2023.

Teaching music has been truly fulfilling for Paul as he enjoys the musical growth of his younger counterparts. With a private teaching experience of over 12 years he has also been a cello, chamber music and orchestral tutor at the Pettman National Junior Academy, Marlborough College, University of Canterbury, Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, YSE Pro Corda, Marshall Laing Music School and the Joyful Orchestra.

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Teaching Info