Merrill Lee, 17, is an 11th grader at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago, Illinois. She has been playing violin for 10 years, and has been studying with her current teacher, Jin Zhang, for 6 years. Merrill has been a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) since 2019, and was concertmaster of Debut Orchestra in 2019, and Symphony Orchestra from 2021-2022, including a European Tour, where CYSO’s Symphony Orchestra performed in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. She was also the Co-Concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra in 2024-2025. Merrill debuted her first solo performance in 2021 at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall after winning the Concert Orchestra Concerto Competition. Additionally, she won First Prize in the 2023 International Protege Competition and performed at Carnegie Hall in 2024. She has also won several regional-level competitions including the Grandquist Music Competition, and Illinois Music Association competition.
Watch Merrill Lee perform Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, 1st Movement by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the violin for the 2025 Spring Music Competition as part of the Charleston International Music Competition.