Meet the Musicians: SeungHoon Lee

SeungHoon Lee’s parents knew it was time to get their son a violin when they found him imitating greats he’d see on television like Jascha Heifetz and David Oistrakh with an instrument he constructed from snack boxes. He was 5. “I was a very introverted and shy kid, but I was having a blast expressing emotions through music.” Lee says he knew from the moment he got his first violin that he wanted to pursue music professionally. 

The South Korean musician earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Korea National University of Arts, studying with Sung-Ju Lee and Takashi Shimizu, respectively. But he wanted to study in the U.S. to broaden his musical perspective and one of his violin heroes, Cho-Liang Lin, happened to teach at Rice University. He was accepted into the artist-professor’s program and ultimately earned his second master’s degree. “My entire playing style changed due to Professor Lin’s inspiration.” 

Lee has been active as both a solo musician and chamber music player, participating in various international festivals, among them, Singapore Violin Festival and International Academy of Arts Festival, and he’s won awards and prizes all over the globe, including first prize at the Young Texas Artists Competition. But the Seattle Symphony is his first professional orchestra gig. He got married the week before his audition. “Winning the audition felt like the best wedding gift one could get.” 

He debuted with the orchestra as the John & Carmen Delo Associate Principal Second Violin halfway through the 2022/2023 season, in Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. “I remember feeling a huge rush of excitement and adrenaline when I saw the full concert hall.” 

He was drawn to Seattle for its beauty, climate and balance between city life and nature. He’s also a coffee lover, one of the perks of living in a region with a high standard of roasteries. “I like to buy coffee beans from local coffee shops and brew them myself.” Currently, he’s brewing beans from Café Umbria and Mercurys. “I still need to try so many more!”  

He’s also been exploring the area restaurant scene. First Violin Andy Liang turned him onto one of his favorites, Phở Ba in the International District. “I have been obsessed ever since trying it for the first time.” He’s also been known to venture out to Federal Way to pick up Korean Beef Bone Broth from Yi’s Traditional Korean Beef Soup. “This was the first meal my wife and I had after we finished our 35-hour road trip from Houston, Texas.”  

When he’s not dining out, he enjoys cooking at home with his wife. “One of our proudest dishes was oxtail soup. It took several hours to simmer and finish, but it was all worth it.” 

See SeungHoon Lee perform in Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony, a particular favorite of his, on June 22 & 24, 2023.