Meet the Musicians #5
Meet Ryan Lee, young and emerging violinist and former Concert Master of the West Australian Youth Orchestra.
Photo by Tallulah Chong.
Cygnus Arioso is proud to support the development of Western Australia’s young and emerging string players, through offering masterclasses, workshops in repertoire, collaborations and giving them a chance to perform within the Perth community. These experiences are essential in preparation for the life of a performing musician.
CA’s very own administrator and on-staff tutor Ryan Lee is just one of the young and emerging players that we are proud to support. We sat down with Ryan to hear how his journey has unfolded so far.
CA: How old were you when you first picked up the violin? Do you remember your first performance?
Ryan: I began the violin when I was 6 years old, and I was first inspired to begin learning the violin after watching an Andre Rieu DVD. My older brother, Dexter, was learning the violin at the time which also inspired me to pick up the instrument. I’m not sure if this was my first performance, but I once performed a solo piece at the age of 7 when I was living in Darwin. However, the music stand was right in front of me and nobody in the audience could see me! Due to this, my mum never let me perform a solo piece with sheet music ever again. That all changed when I began studying violin at UWA though!
CA: You were the concert master of the West Australian Youth Orchestra. Can you tell us what the role of a concert master is?
Ryan: I was the concert master of the WAYO in 2020 and 2021. The role of the concert master is to not only lead the first violin section, but to also mark the parts with bowings, communicate with the string section and the conductor to help everyone reach an understanding regarding the stylistic choices that the conductor requests, perform the orchestral solos, and probably much more that I can’t think of now!
CA: You’ve gone through a lot of auditions for your age. What does preparing for an audition look like for you?
Ryan: A violin audition usually consists of set orchestral excerpts, a Mozart violin concerto, and sometimes a Romantic or 20th century violin concerto. I try to always have a Mozart concerto and Romantic or 20th century concerto ready for whenever I need to audition, however, the excerpts are always different for each audition. I begin with listening to each excerpt and marking in the score the exact time stamp of where the excerpt begins in the recording and the approximate metronome marking. I watch lots of videos of both orchestral performances of the excerpts as well as individual violinists performing the excerpts to help me to understand what the panel might be looking for. Then, of course, lots and lots of slow practice and lessons with both my teacher, Shaun Lee-Chen, and sometimes lessons with the musicians from WASO.
CA: You’ve played alongside some of the best musicians in Australia, during WASO’s side by side concerts. What was it like to play in a collaboration like that? Were you nervous?
Ryan: The WASO side-by-side concerts are one of the highlights of my studies at the UWA Conservatorium of Music and my time at WAYO. It was amazing to be able to perform with the incredible musicians of the WASO. Not only that, but to also be able to play some of my favourite works with them including Stravinsky’s The Firebird, Sibelius’ Finlandia, Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and so much more! I was quite nervous in these collaborations, especially when I was required to perform a solo section with WASO’s Assistant Concertmaster, Semra Lee in the WAYO/WASO Side-By-Side concert in 2021.
CA: What does being a part of Cygnus Arioso mean to you? What impact has Cygnus Arioso had to your career and development as a musician?
Ryan: Cygnus Arioso has been a great organisation for me to be a part of and has provided me with fantastic performance experiences. The dedication of all musicians on stage is unparalleled which always results in fun and effective rehearsals and a rewarding performance. I have also been working as an administrator for Cygnus Arioso since last year, which has been a great and important experience for me which will no doubt be useful in the future of my career.
CA: If you had one piece advice to offer a young musician, wanting to audition for a music school, what would you tell them?
Ryan: Lots and lots of slow practice! When I auditioned for both UWA and WAAPA, we were not required to perform any orchestral excerpts. Instead, we were asked to play pieces of our own choosing. I strongly encourage all young musicians looking to audition to either of these fantastic institutions to choose a piece that they not only enjoy playing, but that also showcases your playing to the maximum!
Ryan Lee will be performing in Cygnus Arioso’s Chamber Music Weekend on the 24th June 2023. Tickets are on sale now.