Lim Soon Lee is a Singaporean

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 conductor and violist

Violist

-Notable violists:A* Julia Rebekka Adler * Sir Hugh Allen , conductor* Kris Allen * Johann Andreas Amon * Paul Angerer , composer* Steven Ansell * Atar Arad * Cecil Aronowitz...

.

Education

Soon Lee began his piano and violin training at a young age, under the tutelage of Goh Soon Tioe

Goh Soon Tioe

Goh Soon Tioe is known in Singapore musical history as a key player in the development of classical music for the post-war Singapore. He is also the father of Singaporean violinist-conductor Vivien Goh....

, Tan Kah Chin, Tan Kian Seng, Moses Wang, and Vivien Goh.

In 1983, under the Singapore Public Service Commission/Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a 96 members professional symphony orchestra. Its main performing venue is the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore although it has also toured widely in Asia, Europe and the United States...

 Scholarship, Soon Lee graduated from the Eastman School of Music

Eastman School of Music

The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...

 at the University of Rochester

University of Rochester

The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...

, New York, with a Bachelor of Music (Distinction). He studied the viola

Viola

The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...

 under the world-renowned violists Atar Arad

Atar Arad

Atar Arad is an Israeli American violist, professor of music, essayist and composer.He has performed in top venues around the world both as a featured soloist with orchestras in and as a member of the distinguished Cleveland Quartet from 1980 to 1987, taking the seat previously established by...

 and Francis Tursi, and completed a two-year conducting course with Professor David Effron and Professor Donald Hunsberger. In the summers of 1984 and 1986, he served as Principal Violist at Germany's Heidelberg Music Festival and was awarded a scholarship to study the viola under Kim Kashkashian

Kim Kashkashian

Kim Kashkashian is an Armenian-American violist.-Professional career:Kim Kashkashian studied the viola with Karen Tuttle. She also studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. She won the 2nd prize at the 1980 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and the 1980 ARD International Music...

 at the Lausanne Academy of Music in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 in 1986.

Awards

Lim won the First Prize in the Lower Strings Open Section at the Singapore National Music Competition in 1981. In the same year, he obtained his Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music for violin and viola. Soon Lee was awarded the Jean Frederic Perrenoud Prize with Certificate of Distinction in Orchestral Conducting at the 4th Vienna International Music Competition in 1995. He was also the finalist for the Outstanding Young Persons of Singapore Award conferred by the Orchid Jayceettes of Singapore in recognition of his contribution to the social development of Singapore.

Conducting career

Upon his return to Singapore, Soon Lee played with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and served as the Sub-Principal Violist from 1989 to 1997. Soon Lee conducted the SSO at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 17th SEA Games (1983), the SSO Family Concert (1983) and at the World Trade Organisation First Ministerial Conference's Farewell Concert (1996). He also conducted the Asian Youth Orchestra

Asian Youth Orchestra

The Asian Youth Orchestra was founded by Yehudi Menuhin & Richard Pontzious. Their inaugural concerts were conducted in August 1990 by Yehudi Menuhin. Sergiu Comissiona is their conductor laureate and Richard Pontzious, artistic director and conductor...

 during the National Day Parade

National Day Parade

The Singapore National Day Parade is a national ceremony in Singapore that, as its name implies, includes a parade on Singapore's National Day on August 9, in commemoration of Singapore's independence that is usually held at the Padang , the National Stadium, various decentalized venues all over...

 in 1997. Soon Lee served on the National Arts Council Resource Panel and was an advisor for the National Music Competition from 1987 to 1997.
In 2000, Soon Lee was invited to conduct the New World Symphony Orchestra

New World Symphony Orchestra

The New World Symphony is the United States' only full-time orchestral academy preparing musicians for careers in symphony orchestras and ensembles...

 at Miami. He also conducted Mozart's Requiem

Requiem

A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...

 at the Dennis Keene Choral Festival, with the Keat Singers in Connecticut. In 2001, Soon Lee conducted the Czech Republic's Plyzen Radio Symphony Orchestra during the International Sibelius Symposium Masterclass with Jorma Panula. Soon Lee has been a viola tutor of the Penang State Symphony Orchestra since 2000, and he conducted the Orchestra in 2003.
Soon Lee is currently the Music Director of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra

Singapore National Youth Orchestra

The Singapore National Youth Orchestra is a youth orchestra under the purview of the Co-Curricular Activities Branch, Education Programmes Division, Ministry of Education. Members of the SNYO come from primary and secondary schools, junior colleges, international schools and tertiary institutions...

 and has been the Music Director/Resident Conductor of the National University of Singapore

National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....

Symphony Orchestra since 1994.

In 2005,Lim was appointed conductor of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra.

In 2010, Lim formed a string quartet, La Vida Quartet, with the youngest member being 17, and oldest, 53. He will be the violinist and the oldest in the quartet.