Su-a Lee is a

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and resident in Scotland. She is known for her wide-ranging collaborations across

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

Scottish traditional music Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

Education

Lee was given a full scholarship to attend

Chetham's School of Music Chetham's School of Music () is a private co-educational boarding and day music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates pupils between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. The music school was established i ...

(along with her two sisters Song-a and Hae-a) in Manchester at the age of nine. In 1988, she was then awarded a full-scholarship place to study with the late Harvey Shapiro at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in New York where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1992. Lee returned to New York in 2007, to play a recital at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

as part of a piano trio with her sister Songa and pianist Louise Thomas.

Career

Appointed assistant principal cellist in 2003, Lee has been a member of the

Scottish Chamber Orchestra The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an Edinburgh-based UK chamber orchestra. One of Scotland's five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and So ...

since 1993. She is also active in the experimental SCO Lab group and regularly participates in both the orchestra's education and community outreach programmes. In 2009, the SCO made an extensive tour of India, where the Lab group played as soloists alongside the

Sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

Maestro,

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (born 9 October 1945) is an Indian classical ''sarod'' player, best known for his clear and fast ekhara taans. Khan was born into a classical musical family (the Bangash lineage of the Senia Gharana) and has performed ...

. A CD of their collaboration ''Samaagam'' was released in May 2011. Alongside other players in the SCO, Robert McFall (violin), Brian Schiele (viola) and

Scottish Ballet Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. Founded in 1 ...

's principal bass player Rick Standley, Lee was a founding member of the group Mr McFall's Chamber which was formed to present classical music in new and inventive ways. Mr McFall's Chamber began as a string quartet playing avant-garde classical music in late-night club venues. The group has expanded to include a wide range of performers playing diverse repertoires from cartoon classics, through to progressive rock, jazz and

tango nuevo Nuevo tango (''New tango'') is both a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional tango music, and an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s. Dance Origins Prior to the 1990s, Argentine tango was t ...

. In 2010, they performed the works of the late Celtic fusion pioneer

Martyn Bennett Martyn Bennett (17 February 1971 – 30 January 2005) was a Canadian-Scottish musician who was influential in the evolution of modern Celtic fusion, a blending of traditional Celtic music, Celtic and modern music. He was a piper, violinist, com ...

(Lee is also an Associate Member of the Martyn Bennett Trust.) with the album ''Birds and Beasts'', collaborated with Norwegian electronic jazz percussionist Thomas Strønen and worked with the idiosyncratic Dundee poet

Michael Marra Michael Marra (17 February 1952 – 23 October 2012) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician from Dundee, Scotland. Known as the Bard of Dundee, Marra was a solo performer who toured the UK and performed in arts centres, theatres, folk cl ...

on the album ''Michael Marra''. Though Lee spends most of her time playing classical music, she also plays across all art forms and a wide musical spectrum. She has played for theatre, dance and film and performs and records regularly with Scotland's jazz and folk luminaries and is also Patron-in-Chief of the Perth Youth Orchestra. In 2009 she further explored the territory of improvised music, collaborating with painter Alan Kilpatrick to perform an improvised live installation piece at the Fleming Gallery in London

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

. In January 2012, Lee performed with former

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

bass player,

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish musician. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of Rock music, rock band Cream (band), Cream. After the group disbanded in 1968, he pursued a ...

with Mr McFall's Chamber at

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of trad ...

. At Celtic Connections 2013, Lee further expanded her musical range, playing at the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, with India Alba alongside two classical Indian musicians, Gyan Singh and Sharat Chandra Srivastava and two Scottish musicians; virtuoso on pipes and whistles, Ross Ainslie and renowned instrument maker and performer Nigel Richard. After playing as a guest in the band's line-up at both the Solas and Insider Music Festivals in June 2013, Su-a agreed to a permanent position with the band. Some musical critics have regarded a number of Lee's projects as "challenging and experimental"; projects "pushing musical and performance boundaries". In April 2012, her musical saw playing came to the attention of

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

, resulting in a request to record her at

British Grove Studios British Grove Studios is a recording studio located at 20 British Grove in Chiswick, West London, and owned by musician Mark Knopfler. British Grove Studios was built by David Stewart, the studio's former manager, and commissioned by Knopfler as ...

. Lee has performed in countries and venues in both the Northern and Southern hemisphere including some unorthodox and unconventional locations including Japanese temples, circus tents, waterfalls – and even special concerts for babies.

Award nominations

In 2007 Lee was listed in

Scotland on Sunday ''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by National World and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate ''The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in ...

at number 26 among the fifty most eligible women in Scotland.

Discography

with Scottish Chamber Orchestra

*''Schubert Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9'' (1998) *''Beethoven Symphonies 1–9'' (2006) *''Hallgrímsson Cello Concertos'' (2007) *''Mozart Symphonies 38–41'' (2008) *''Mozart Sinfonia Concertante'' (2008) *''Harper: Miracles – The Music of Edward Harper'' (2008) *''Mozart Symphonies 29, 31 'Paris', 32, 35 'Haffner' and 36 'Linz' '' (2009) *''Strauss – Ariadne on Naxos/Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme'' (2010) *''Amjad Ali Khan – Samaagam'' (2010) *''Weber Wind Concertos'' (2012) *''Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique'' (2012)

with Mr McFall's Chamber

''Like the Milk''
(1999)
''Revolucionario''
(2001)
''Upstart Jugglers''
(2001)
''Gavin Bryars''
(2007)
''Newcastle New Music''
(2009)
''Birds and Beasts''
(2010)
''Michael Marra''
(2010)
''The Okavango Macbeth''
(2011)
''La Pasionaria''
(2013)

with others

Alyth Alyth () () is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, northeast of Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie and about northwest of Dundee. In 2022 the town had an estimated population of 3,046. First mentioned by name in a 12th-century royal char ...

– '' An Iomall'' (2000) * Fraser Anderson – and the girl with the strawberry''...' (2003) * Heather MacLeod �
"Crossing Tides"
(2005) *

Karine Polwart Karine Polwart ( ) (born 23 December 1970) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised fo ...

�
''Scribbled in chalk''
(2006) * Andi Neate – ''Flying Full Circle'' (2007) *

Eliza Carthy Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson. Life and career Carthy was born i ...

– '' Dreams of Breathing Underwater'' (2008) * Colin Steele �
''Stramash''
(2008) * Andi Neate �
''Crows, Rooks and Ravens''
(2008) *

Max Richter Max Richter (; ; born 22 March 1966) is a German-born British composer and pianist. He works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. Richter is classically trained, having graduated in composition from the University of Edinbu ...

�
24 ''Postcards in Full Colour''
(2008) * James Grant – ''Strange Flowers'' (2009) * Fiona J. Mackenzie – ''Deagh Dheis Aodaich (A Good Suit of Clothes'') (2009) * Michelle Burke �
''Pulling Threads''
(2009) * Lauren MacColl – ''Strewn with Ribbons'' (2009) * Hidden Orchestra – ''Tru Thoughts'' (BBC Radio 1, Album of the Month) (2010) * Isobel Campbell – ''

Hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

'' (2010) * Alan Coady and Zoë Moskal �
Love Burns
(2010) * Anna-Wendy Stevenson �

(2011) *

Bella Hardy Bella Hardy (born 24 May 1984) is an English contemporary folk musician, singer and songwriter from Edale, Derbyshire, England, who performs a combination of traditional and self-penned material. She was named Folk Singer of the Year at the 2014 ...

�
''Songs Lost or Stolen''
(2011) * David Ferrard – ''Journeyman'' – Album of the Week, BBC Radio Scotland (2011) * Hidden Orchestra – ''Archipelago'' *

(recorded April 2012) – ''Musical Saw'' (2012) * James Ross �
''Chasing the Sun''
(2012) * Amy Duncan – "Cycles of Life" (2013)

Solo

*''Dialogues'' (duo recordings with various artists) (2022)

References

External links

* *
Mr McFall's Chamber

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Su-A South Korean classical cellists South Korean women classical cellists Musicians from Seoul 1970s births Living people Players of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Year of birth missing (living people)