Winner of the 2022 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, Earl Lee is a renowned Korean-Canadian conductor who has captivated audiences worldwide. Music Director of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra since 2022, he recently finished a successful three-year tenure as Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to a full season of concerts with the Ann Arbor Symphony, Lee’s 2025/26 season includes his subscription debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and several return engagements with teg Boston Symphony. Further guest conducting includes returns to the Calgary Philharmonic, the Colburn Orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the orchestras of the Royal Conservatory Toronto and the San Francisco Conservatory, as well as debuts with the Omaha Symphony and Rhode Island Philharmonic. Lee starts his season in his native Korea with appearances at the Seoul Arts Center and the Tongyeong International Music Festival (TIMF) with the TIMF Festival Orchestra.
Previous seasons included subscription concerts with the Boston Symphony in Boston and at Tanglewood and guest conducting engagements with the Atlanta, San Francisco, Colorado, Saratoga, and Vancouver Symphonies, Seoul Philharmonic, Mostly Mozart Orchestra, and the Sejong Soloists at Carnegie Hall and in Seoul.
Lee previously held positions as Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and as the Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony. In 2022, he appeared with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam as a participant in the Ammodo masterclasses led by Fabio Luisi. He studied cello at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School and conducting at Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory. He lives in New York City with his wife and their daughter.
Winner of first prize and the audience choice award at the 24th Annual Sphinx Competition, American violinist Amaryn Olmeda is a rising star sought after for her bold and expressive performances as a soloist and collaborator. Violinist.com says of Olmeda, “…her commanding stage presence, infallible technique, and interpretive ability already rival that of international concert stage veterans.”
Highlights of the 2025-2026 season included debut performances with the Calgary Philharmonic and the Symphony Orchestras of Dallas, Tallahassee, Modesto, Williamsburg, and Shreveport; as well as return appearances with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Des Moines, Stockton, and Auburn Symphony Orchestras.
Recently Olmeda debuted in recital at the Celebrity Series of Boston, and in 2024 made her Lincoln Center and David Geffen Hall solo debuts. She made her Carnegie Hall solo debut on the Sphinx Virtuosi tour at the age of 14, garnering rave reviews.
Recent highlights include debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Omaha Symphony, and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra at their New Year’s Concert Series, earning her a nomination for the San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards. In 2023, she recorded Carlos Simon’s Between Worlds on Deutsche Grammophon, praised by The Strad as “an impressive reading by the young musician”. In 2022, Olmeda performed for the San Francisco Conservatory Gala with Yuja Wang. At 13, Olmeda became the first member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Opus 3 Artist’s Artist Apprentice Program.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, in 2008, Amaryn Olmeda studies at the New England Conservatory of Music with Miriam Fried. She previously studied with Ian Swensen at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Olmeda performs on a violin made by J.B. Vuillaume in 1864.
