Dr. Michelle Yeunhae Lie

Violin and Viola

As a recent 1st prize winner of Golden Classical Music Awards 2020, Michelle has shared the stage with some of the finest performers such as Itzhak Perlman, Toby Appel, Andrés Cárdenes, Eric Kim, Mark Kaplan, Atar Arad and Jon Nakamatsu.

Born in Munich, Germany, and raised in South Korea, her musical education in violin started at the age of 14 from the influence of her vocalist father. She was quickly recognized through various performances and awards, including the First Prize of the 250th Anniversary of J.S. Bach Violin Competition in Seoul in 2000, and Second Prize winner and Audience Choice of the Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Competition at the University of Colorado-Boulder in 2011. She has been featured as a soloist with various orchestras including Chungnam Philharmonic (Korea), Dankook University Orchestra (Korea), and Columbus Symphony Orchestra (Indiana, US). Known for her in-depth musical projects, Michelle performed a complete Beethoven Violin Sonata cycle in Kansas City in June, 2011.

Since joining the Tesla Quartet in 2011, she has won numerous prizes at international competitions, including the Gold Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition; Second Prize, Haydn Prize and Special Award for Canadian Commission at the 2016 Banff International String Quartet Competition in Canada; and Third Prize at the Wigmore Hall London International String Quartet Competition in 2012.

In addition to her work with the Tesla Quartet, Michelle is dedicated to educating both children and college students. She has held positions as a teaching artist at El Sistema Lehigh Valley in Allentown, PA, an Associate Violin Performance Instructor at Indiana University, and an Artist-in-Residence at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada.

Michelle received her Doctor of Music Degree in 2013 from Indiana University. She holds a BM from Dankook University in South Korea, a MM from the New England Conservatory, and Performance Studies Certificate from the Cleveland Institute of Music.