Cellist Richard Youngjae Lee was born in Los Angeles, California in 2012. He began studying the cello at age six with his mother, Sylvia Seunghee Kang, the pupil of David Soyer, Eleonore Schoenfeld, and Peter Stumpf.
Mr. Lee won numerous international music competitions in the United States, Canada, Netherlands, Austria, and the United Kingdom. Some of his achievements include FIRST PLACE with Special Honours in the Royal Sound Music Competition 2024, FIRST PRIZE Winner of the Amsterdam “Grand Prize Virtuoso” 42 nd International Music Competition, FIRST PRIZE Winner of the Vienna “Grand Prize Virtuoso” 43 rd International Music Competition, FIRST PRIZE Winner of the 2024 “Golden Classical Music Awards” International Competition, FIRST PRIZE Winner of the 2024 Charleston International Music Competition, FIRST PRIZE Winner of the World’s Best Musicians Competition 2024, etc. He has been invited to perform at Kleine Zaal, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Glaserner Saal, Musikverein in Vienna, Austria, and Tribute Communities Recital Hall in Toronto, Canada.
As a FIRST PRIZE Winner of the 2024 “Golden Classical Music Awards” International Competition, Mr. Lee has been selected to perform Saint Saens Cello Concerto No.1 at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. He will have his Carnegie Hall debut recital on July 10 th , 2024. He has been accepted to the 26 th Philadelphia International Music Festival Symphony Orchestra Young Artists’ Program and will participate in the Music Camp from July 13 th , 2024.
Currently, Richard Youngjae Lee is a principal cellist of the North Gwinnett Middle School 6 th Grade Orchestra and a member of the North Gwinnett Middle School Honor Orchestra in Sugar Hill, Georgia.
You can find Richard’s 2024 Winter Music Competition cello performance here.