Since winning First Prize at the International Antonio Janigro Cello Competition, cellist Trey Lee has been making a sensation across continents. Hailed　"a Miracle” by GRAMOPHONE and　“a Master of subtle transition” by The STRAD, Trey enthralls audiences with his virtuoso playing that combines intellectual sophistication with emotional depth and sensitivity. Trey’s recent orchestral debut at Carnegie Hall won him a standing ovation with critic Anthony Tommasini from the NEW YORK TIMES declaring him “the excellent cellist… with enveloping richness and lyrical sensitivity.” In his collaboration with the Netherlands Philharmonic at the Royal Concertgebouw Hall, Trey again received a standing ovation with the critics praising him a “Star Musician.”
Most recently, Trey has been invited by United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon to perform as one of two soloists (alongside soprano Sumi Jo) in a special concert for the UN General Assembly in New York under maestro Lu Jia. In addition, Trey is touring with the Munich Chamber Orchestra under maestro Alexander Liebreich, and together with Finland's Avanti! under maestro Dmitri Slobodeniouk, Trey gave the world premieres of Kirmo Lintinen's Cello Concerto and Liping Wang/Chaoming Tung's "Dream of the Red Chamber," both commissioned for Trey Lee. Other engagements include invitation from the Philharmonics of Lübeck and Neubrandenburg, Symphony Orchestras of the Romanian Radio and Israel, Macao Orchestra, and Kuhmo Festival.
Within the last few years, Trey has worked with esteemed conductors and composers such as Bright Sheng, Osmo Vanska, Jun Märkl, Paul Daniel. He has appeared at prestigious venues and with major orchestras including the Philharmonics of China, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Neue Westfalen, Slovenia, the Northern Sinfornia, the Zagreb Soloists, amongst others.
As an innovative artist constantly striving for new ideas and challenges, Trey is pioneering the effort to promote chamber music in Asia, and has spearheaded the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival. In the area of contemporary music, Finland's largest newspaper, the Helsingin Sanomat, declared that “Trey Lee has great talent for understanding the language of modern music, its gestures and meanings." In 2009, Italy’s most influential newspaper, Il Corriere Della Sera, heralded Trey as one of Greater China’s four classical music “Golden Boys & Girls.”
Trey has been featured by major media including the Financial Times and CNN. He was also the focus of the acclaimed documentaries “Outstanding Young Chinese Musicians” by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), and “Music Life” by China’s CCTV. Throughout his musical career, Trey has been influenced by cellists Frans Helmerson, Laurence Lesser, Bernard Greenhouse, and Ardyth Alton. Currently based in Berlin, Trey plays on a 1828 Giovanni Pressenda cello generously on loan to him from the Chi Mei Foundation of Taiwan.
Since winning First Prize at the 2004 International Antonio Janigro Cello Competition, cellist Trey Lee has been celebrated across multiple continents. Hailed “a Miracle” by GRAMOPHONE and “a Master of subtle transition” by The STRAD, Trey enthralls audiences with his virtuoso playing that combines intellectual sophistication with emotional depth and sensitivity.
Trey’s recent orchestral debut at Carnegie Hall won him a standing ovation with critic Anthony Tommasini from the NEW YORK TIMES declaring him “the excellent cellist… with enveloping richness and lyrical sensitivity.” In his collaboration with the Netherlands Philharmonic at the Royal Concertgebouw Hall, Trey again received a standing ovation with the critics praising him a “Star Musician.”
Within the last few years, Trey has worked with esteemed composers and conductors such as Bright Sheng, Osmo Vanska, Jun Markl, Paul Daniel, and Heiko Mathias Forster. He has appeared with numerous major orchestras across Europe and Asia, including the Philharmonics of Helsinki, Netherlands, Slovenia, Würzburg, Zagreb, Hong Kong, China, the Orchestras of Brandenburg State, Finnish Radio, Macao, Philharmonie Neue Westfalen, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Zagreb Soloists, and the Samobar Festival Chamber Orchestra of Croatia.
Most recently, Trey has been invited by United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon to perform as one of two soloists (alongside soprano Sumi Jo) in a special concert for the UN General Assembly in New York under maestro Lu Jia. In addition, Trey is touring with the Munich Chamber Orchestra under maestro Alexander Liebreich, and together with Finland's Avanti! under maestro Dmitri Slobodeniouk, to make the world premieres of Kirmo Lintinen's Cello Concerto and Liping Wang/Chaoming Tung's "Dream of the Red Chamber," both commissioned for Trey Lee. Other engagements include invitation from the Philharmonics of Lübeck and Neubrandenburg, Symphony Orchestras of the Romanian Radio and Israel, Kuhmo Festival, and re-engagement from the Macao Orchestra.
Trey has a special affinity for performing contemporary music, with Finland’s most influential newspaper, the Helsingin Sanomat, declaring him a "great talent for understanding the language of modern music, its gestures and meanings." As an active recitalist and chamber musician, Trey has regaled audiences in Moscow’s Kremlin, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Hall, Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional, Helsinki’s Finlandia Hall, and Zagreb’s Vatroslav Lisinski, whilst making guest appearances at the Marlboro Music Festival and the Dubrovnik Festival. As one of the pioneers in promoting chamber music in Asia, Trey spearheaded the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival, which has completed it triumphant second season during the summer of 2010.
Collaborating with EMI, Trey has released several albums which topped the classical charts and was enthusiastically received by audiences and critics alike. In addition, Trey can be heard as featured soloist on the original sound track recording for the German-Taiwan-Hong Kong co-produced film “The Drummer,” which was in competition at the Sundance Festival, also released by EMI.
Trey’s success in music began at the Juilliard School Pre-College Division, but he spent several years away from the cello to study Economics at Harvard University and to work as a management consultant. During this period, he went through a journey of self-discovery, eventually returned to music with a renewed passion. Throughout his musical career, Trey has been influenced by cellists Frans Helmerson, Laurence Lesser, Bernard Greenhouse, and Ardyth Alton. Among the numerous competitions he won during the course of his studies, Trey was a major prize winner of New York’s Naumburg and Helsinki’s Paulo International Competitions.
Trey has been featured in major media including the Financial Times and CNN. He was also the focus of the acclaimed documentary “Outstanding Young Chinese Musicians” by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). In 2009, Italy’s most influential newspaper, Il Corriere della Sera, heralded Trey as one of Greater China's four classical music “Golden Boys & Girls.”
In recognition for his outstanding achievements, Trey was awarded "Leader of the Year" by the Asian media conglomerate Sing Tao Media Group, presented to him by maestro Edo de Waart, and the Elle Style Award for "Musician of the Year."
Trey currently lives in Berlin pursuing his solo career. He plays on a 1828 Giovanni Pressenda cello generously on loan to him from the Chi Mei Foundation of Taiwan.