Chamber music series to feature internationally acclaimed artists

La Sierra University’s ongoing Chamber Music Recital series on Sun., Nov. 6 will feature Kristin Lee, violin, Jason Uyeyama, violin, Ben Ullery, viola, and Robert deMaine, cello. They will perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s “String Trio in E-Flat Major Op. 3” and “String Quartet in E-flat Major Op. 74,” along with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “String Quartet in D Major KV 575.” The performance will take place at 7 p.m. in La Sierra’s Hole Memorial Auditorium.

Korean-American violinist Lee has been praised for her tone, versatility, and technique. She currently tours with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in over 12 states in the United States. She has appeared on prestigious concert stages such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, the Metropolitan Museum, Steinway Hall’s Salon de Virtuosi, the Louvre Museum in Paris, and Korea’s Kumho Art Gallery. She has received many honors and awards including the 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, the 2015 Trondheim Chamber Music Competition, 2011 Trio di Trieste Premio International Competition, and more. She is also the unprecedented first prize winner of three concerto competitions at The Juilliard School—in the Pre-College Division in 1997 and 1999, and in the College Division in 2007.

Lee’s performances have been broadcasted on WQXR in New York, on Robert Sherman’s “Young Artists Showcase,” and with guitarist Mattias Jacobsson on Annie Bergen’s “The Office Hours.” She also appeared on a nationally broadcast PBS documentary entitled “Perlman in Shanghai” that chronicled a historic cross-cultural exchange between the Perlman Music Program and Shanghai Conservatory.

She received a master’s degree from The Julliard School where she studied with Itzhak Perlman. She is a faculty member for the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and the co-founder and artistic director of Emerald City Music, a Seattle-based chamber music series.

Uyeyama, La Sierra’s director of string studies organizes the Chamber Music Recital Series. He is also an active player with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota and other groups. Last month he performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in an East Coast tour, and subsequently is playing with the L.A. Phil under Music Director Gustavo Dudamel through Nov. 5 in a tour of West Coast cities. Uyeyama serves as the founder and director of the Orange County String Studio where he offers lessons and instruction. He has performed in festivals in Columbia, Aspen, Tanglewood, and Taos. Uyeyama has also served as music director of Community Kids Connection in San Bernardino where he has provided free violin lessons to underprivileged kids.

Before his extensive musical career, Uyeyama received his master’s degree from The Julliard School where he studied with Masao Kawasaki. Other teachers he has worked with are celebrated violinists Itzhak Perlman, Dorothy DeLay, and Yao-Ji Lin.

Ullery is assistant principal viola for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and is a faculty member at the Colburn School where he teaches orchestral repertoire and coaches the Colburn Orchestra’s viola section. He has performed as guest principal viola with the Detroit Symphony, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the Aspen Chamber Symphony and has been featured in chamber music performances on NPR’s “Performance Today.” He has recorded chamber works for Bridge and Albany records.

Ullery is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied violin with Gregory Fulkerson.

Highly sought-after solo artist and chamber musician deMaine is the principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has appeared on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Teatro Colón, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Moscow's Tchaikovsky Hall, Auditorium du Louvre, the Seoul Arts Center, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center and Conservatory, and London’s Wigmore Hall, among others. He has been featured on the BBC, PBS, NPR's “Performance Today,” the Canadian Broadcasting Company, France Musique, and RAI, and more.

deMaine studied at The Juilliard School, the Eastman School of Music, the University of Southern California, Yale University, and the Kronberg Academy in Germany. He was the first cellist ever to win the grand prize at San Francisco’s prestigious Irving M. Klein International Competition for Strings. He has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Peter Oundjian, Mark Wigglesworth, Joseph Silverstein, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, and Leonard Slatkin.

Admission for the Chamber Music Recital Series is $15 general admission, $10 seniors age 55 and over, $5 for students and teachers. Children age 12 and under are free. Season passes are available for Department of Music events. For further information call 951-785-2036, email music@lasierra.edu, or visit https://lasierra.edu/music/. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. A campus map is available at https://lasierra.edu/campus-map/.