Symphony's Annual Concert Features Rarely Heard Bach Concerto

The rarely heard Bach “Triple Concerto for 3 Violins” will be featured at the Grosse Pointe Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming summer concert at the Moross Café in the St. John Hospital and Medical Center, 22101 Moross.

The concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2, is free.

Playing the concerto will be e two exciting young violinists, Ireland Lee and Amanda Beaune, and their teacher, Sonia Lee.

Sonia Lee started playing violin when she was 5. Soon afterward, she was touring with the International Suzuki Tour group and was invited to make her solo concerto debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Semyon Bychkov.

At age 13, she started training with Paul Kantor at Juilliard Pre-College. Sonia flew every weekend to attend Juilliard in high school to train with Dorothy Delay, Masao Kawasaki, and later with Stephen Clapp, former Dean of Juilliard. At age 15 she was invited to perform at the 92nd Street Y with the New York Chamber Symphony under Gerard Schwartz.

Lee graduated from Juilliard and while still a student won the international fiolin auditions with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra where she was the youngest Principal Second violinist at age 23.

Lee has performed in concerts throughout Canada, the United States, and was a guest violin soloist with the American Sinfonietta touring while performing the “Barber Concerto” at age 19. Lee has also received many awards including top honors from Juilliard and was the winner of the New York Young Concert Artists career grant and was the winner of the 1992 concerto competition at Juilliard performing the Brahms violin concerto.

She is currently performing with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as a substitute violinist and is a frequent master class technician, teacher and performer throughout Michigan.

Amanda Beaune began studying violin privately at the age of 8 and joined her first youth orchestra at the age of 9. She is currently studying with Lee, and has been co-concertmaster of the Oakland Youth Orchestra since 2013.

Beaune is also involved in a professional musical ensemble called Music Envy, a high school group from the Rochester area. Amanda entered into Clarkston Community Schools in 2010 and plays in her school orchestra under the direction of Wendy Stuart.

Here, she met her quartet, now called the Main Street Strings, with whom she has performed at festivals and special events. She is also a member of the National Honor Society and enjoys participating in extracurricular activities such as French and Poetry Club.

Over the last year, Beaune has participated in the Michigan Music Conference All-State Honors Orchestra and the Michigan Youth Arts Festival. She also competed in the Oakland Youth Orchestra’s Solo/Concerto Competition where she earned first place performing the “Barber Violin Concerto.”

In the past, Beaune solo performed “Scene de Ballet” by Beriot at the age of 12 at a school orchestra concert and has guest-soloed with the Michigan Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Zeljko Milicevic. She has also participated in a chamber music camp at the Cleveland Institute of Music and an orchestra intensive camp at Baldwin Wallace College.

Beaune is excited as she moves toward her senior year. She will finish off her summer attending and participating in a Bach Summer Workshop in Connecticut under the direction of Katie Lansdale. For her senior year, Amanda looks forward to being a part of the Oakland University Chamber Orchestra and solo performing the “Barber Violin Concerto” with the Oakland Youth Orchestra at its winter concert.

Ireland Lee began studying the violin at the age of 6. Ireland has been studying with Professor Sonia Lee, since 2012. She has also had the opportunity to work with Kim Kennedy (oncertmaster of the DSO), Frank Almond (CCPA), Lina Bahn (Thornton School of Music), David Halen (Concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony), Masao Kawasaki (Juilliard), Andrew Jennings (U of M), Jonathan Swartz (ASU), Renee Jolles (Eastman), Alex Kerr (Jacobs School of Music), Min Young Baik (CCM).

In 2013, she was honored to be accepted into the Juilliard Dorothy Delay Symposium. She was accepted into the Credo Chamber Music Festival, Aria International Summer Academy and the prestigious Domaine Forget Music Festival in Quebec.

Ireland Lee had the honor of having a masterclass with Professor Stephen Clapp, former Dean of Music at Juilliard. She was also selected to perform in a masterclass for Kurt Nikkanen, Concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. She has also attended masterclasses with Renee Jolles, Oleh Krysa, Janet Sung and the prestigious Emerson String Quartet. She had the opportunity to perform at several benefit concerts including a performance at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

In 2015, Ireland Leewas chosen as a winner in the American Protégé International Music Competition and in the Tuesday Musicale Annual Student League Competition.

She also had the opportunity to compose a piece and perform the work on Orchestra Hall stage, home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Along with those musical achievements, Ireland Lee was awarded the top academic scholarship at her school.

The concert also includes the Bach “First Suite for Orchestra,” which features two oboes and a bassoon. The concert will open with the Handel “Concerto Grosso Op. 3 no. 5 for two oboes and strings” with Grosse Pointe Symphony oboists Kerry Russo and Michelle Kauffold.