Lynnette Seah Mei Tsing (

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

: 佘美幸; pinyin: Shé Měixìng, born 1957) is a Singaporean violinist. She retired after 41 years at the

Singapore Symphony Orchestra The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Singapore. Its principal concert venue is the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. The orchestra also gives concerts at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, and performs ...

(SSO) in 2019. She was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Music in 2006.

Early life

Seah began her formal music education on the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

at the age of five under the guidance of her mother, Lau Biau Chin. At six years old, she began learning the violin with Goh Soon Tioe. Subsequently, she studied with violin teacher Alphonso Anthony. At 15, Seah was appointed Associate Concertmaster of the Bishop Symphony Orchestra at the

International Music Camp The International Music Camp is a summer youth camp held annually at the International Peace Garden on the North Dakota-Manitoba border. The camp offers week-long and month-long intensive programs in the fine arts, including piano, choir and pai ...

Adelaide, Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. In the same year, she represented Singapore in the Southeast Asian Violin Competition and earned a scholarship to study at the Hannover Hochschule for Music in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Seah received instruction from multiple violin instructors, including David Mankowitz in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Professor Friedrich von Hausegger in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Professor Karel Sneberger in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Yfrah Neaman Professor Yfrah Neaman, OBE FGSM (13 February 1923 – 4 January 2003), was a concert violinist and teacher. Early life Neaman was born in Sidon, Lebanon. He lived in Tel Aviv until 1932 when he moved to Paris to study at the Paris Conserv ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin teacher, instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medic ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Musical career

As a violin soloist, Seah has performed with several orchestras around the world, such as the

Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra (''Janáčkova filharmonie Ostrava'') is a Czech orchestra based in Ostrava. Named after composer Leoš Janáček, the orchestra performs its concerts at the City of Ostrava Cultural Centre. History The root ...

, Gstaad Menuhin Festival Orchestra, Orebro Chamber Orchestra, Teplice Symphony Orchestra, and

Zurich Symphony Orchestra Zürcher Symphoniker (Zurich Symphony Orchestra) is a symphony orchestra made of up 72 professional freelance musicians, based in Zurich, Switzerland. It was founded in 1981 by music director, Daniel Schweizer. Performs approximately thirty-fi ...

. Seah has also played in several festivals, including the

Bergen International Festival Bergen International Festival () is an annual international music and cultural festival in Bergen, Norway. In Spring 2022, Lars Petter Hagen took over as festival director. Biography The Bergen International festival is the largest festival ...

Singapore Arts Festival Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is an annual arts festival held in Singapore. It is organised bArts House Limitedfor the National Arts Council Singapore, National Arts Council. The festival is usually held in mid-year for a stretch ...

, and the Swiss Festival. In 2005, Seah commissioned Singaporean composer Bernard Tan to compose a concerto, ''Violin Concerto'', dedicated to her''.'' The concerto premiered on 7 January 2006 at Singapore's

Esplanade Concert Hall An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

by Seah herself with the SSO and

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

conductor

Lan Shui Lan Shui (, born 1957) is an American conductor. He was the Music Director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra from 1997 to 2019. He has retired as Music Director on 26 January 2019, and was given the title of Conductor Laureate by chairman of th ...

. Seah is active in the chamber music community. She is the leader and founder of the Jade String Quartet, a chamber music group in Singapore, as well as one of the founders of the

. Alongside her soloist and concertmaster work, Seah is a member of the Advisory Committee for the "Violin Loan Scheme" run by the Singapore National Arts Council. She is also a member of Singapore's Education Ministry's Arts Education Committee, which oversees various arts institutions such as the

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA; zh, 南洋艺术学院; ; ) is a publicly-funded post-secondary arts institution in Singapore, and a constituent college of the University of the Arts Singapore (UAS) from 2024. NAFA offers courses at high-s ...

, the

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YST Conservatory), a school of the National University of Singapore, is Singapore's first conservatory of music located at Conservatory Drive off Kent Ridge Crescent. Primarily an undergraduate institutio ...

, and the LASALLE College of the Arts.

Awards

In 1997, the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore conferred on Seah the Excellence Award in recognition of her contribution to Singapore's classical music scene. In 2006, SSO nominated and awarded Seah with the

Cultural Medallion The Cultural Medallion () is a cultural award in Singapore conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, Literature of Singapore, literature, Music of Singapore, music, photography, art and Cinema of Singapore, film ...

for Music. Seah received the award from the then

President of Singapore The president of the Republic of Singapore, is the head of state of Singapore. The president represents the country in official diplomatic functions and possesses certain executive powers over the government of Singapore, including the contro ...

S R Nathan Sellapan Ramanathan (; 3 July 1924 – 22 August 2016),. often known as S. R. Nathan, was a Singaporean statesman who served as the sixth president of Singapore between 1999 and 2011. He was the longest-serving president in the country's histor ...

, at the

Istana ''Istana'' is an Indonesian and Malay word meaning "palace". It may refer to: Indonesia * Istana Bogor, a presidential palace in Bogor, West Java * Istana Cipanas, a presidential palace in Cipanas, West Java * Istana Maimun, the Sultanate of Deli ...

Personal life

Seah is divorced from her husband, Hans Simon. They have two sons.

References

External links

Lynnette Seah
– Biography *https://www.sso.org.sg/about/singapore-symphony-orchestra/the-orchestra/lynnette-seah {{DEFAULTSORT:Seah, Lynnette 1957 births Living people Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean musicians Singaporean classical violinists Recipients of the Cultural Medallion 21st-century classical violinists Women classical violinists