*Concert Program (46.6 KB)

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Korean-American cellist, Patrick Jee, is a rising star in the classical music world and is hailed as being a "gifted virtuoso" (Harris Goldsmith). Already a seasoned veteran of the stage, Mr. Jee’s wildly charismatic and powerful performances have received accolades from audiences and critics alike. His music has a "lustrous suavity and a satin-smooth bowing and singing line" (New York Concert Review). "His masterful technique and tight connection with the orchestra brought out all that is available in the Elgar Cello Concerto" (Edmonton Journal). "He is a complete musician" (Ezra Laderman).

Mr. Jee’s solo career has taken him across the United States, Canada, and Europe with engagements and re-engagements by many orchestras including the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Edmonton Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Toulouse, the National Orchestra of Toulouse and the Orchestra de Chambre Regional D’Ile-de-France. "He is an artist of intense, passionate expressiveness and sensitivity. He exudes warmth, energy, and control from his every pore. His technical mastery is amazing enough, but his gift of musicality is beyond any words to describe." (Paul Ferington, Buffalo Philharmonic)

As a recitalist and chamber musician, Mr. Jee’s has performed at prestigious venues such as the Aspen Music Festival, the Banff Centre for the Arts, Carnegie Hall, the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, the Kennedy Center, Seoul Arts Center, and the United Nations. He has also performed on Caramoor’s "Rising Stars" and "Virtuosi" Series in collaboration with Leon Fleisher and has also collaborated with renowned keybordiest, Anthony Newman, with whom he will be performing the complete Brandenburg Concertos at New York's St. Bartholomew's Church this New Year’s Eve. Mr. Jee is also a member of the New York-based, conductor-less ensemble, International Sejong Soloists touring extensively the United States and Asia.

Mr. Jee is an avid supporter of contemporary music having already made many premieres and commissions. Some works include Ezra Laderman’s Fantasy for Solo Cello (1998), which can be heard on the Albany Records label, Evocation (2003) by James Ra, in addition to performances of Aaron Jay Kernis’ 100 Greatest Dance Hits at the Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

Mr. Jee has garnered top prizes in many competitions including the Andre Navarra Cello Competition, the Holland-America Music Society Cello Competition, the Irving Klein International String Competition, and the International Web Concert Hall Competition. He can be heard over WFMT Chicago, WXXI Rochester, and through the www.webconcerthall.com Web site. Mr. Jee acknowledges his early teachers and mentors Steven Doane, James Kirkwood, and Eleonore Schoenfeld and has studied extensively under the tutelage of Aldo Parisot earning a Bachelor of Music degree from the Juilliard School and a Masters of Music from Yale University School of Music.

Andrew Armstrong

Praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, Andrew Armstrong, pianist, has delighted audiences around the world. He has performed solo recitals and with orchestras in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States, including performances at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Kennedy Center, and Warsaw's National Philharmonic. In chamber music, he has performed with the Alexander, American, and Manhattan Quartets, as well as with Itzhak Perlman. Last season Mr. Armstrong gave over 70 performances, including appearances in Panama and Japan. Recent performances include Beethoven's Concerti Nos. 4 & 5, Prokofiev’s Concerti Nos. 1 & 3, Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 2, Ravel’s Concerto in G Major, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Mr. Armstrong has impressed international audiences with a repertoire ranging from Bach to William Bolcom. Studio Magazine (Warsaw) writes, "Armstrong masters the details" and "explores them with passion." "His playing," writes Chopin Magazine (Japan) of his performance of Chopin's Scherzo No. 1, is "filled with a bounty of colors...reminiscent of Vladimir Horowitz."

Mr. Armstrong studied English literature and art history at Columbia University. A personable young talent with wide cultural and human interests, Mr. Armstrong is devoted to outreach programs and donates a part of his busy concert schedule to playing for children, developing their interest in classical music in an ambassadorial role. In addition to his many concerts, his performances are heard regularly on National Public Radio and WQXR, New York City's premier classical music station.