PROFILE: Anna Lee

Photos courtesy of Washington Performing Arts Society

The first time you talk to Anna Lee you will be surprised that she is only 18 years old. Her wisdom and confidence seem way beyond her years…but then again, she’s had a very different life from most 18 year olds. Lee started playing violin at 4 years old and started performing at 5. Since then, her accomplishments include being a top Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarship winner on the NPR Program “From the Top” in 2007, claiming top prizes in the 2010 and 2012 Menuhin Competition, and studying at the pre-college division of the Juilliard School on a full scholarship.

On January 16, 2013, Lee will make her Kennedy Center debut with the Washington Performing Arts Society. Her program will include Massanet’s “Meditation” from Thais, Brahms’ “Sonatensatz” and Hubay’s “Carmen Fantasie Brilliante.”

Some of these songs, Lee has never performed before. “When I first created the program, I thought, oh I can do this! But now I’m like, why did I do this to myself?” Lee said laughing.

Lee began playing because her father used to teach violin to kids at church and, being a self-professed Daddy’s girl, she wanted to do everything that her dad did. But her father did not want her to play the violin.

“He remembered how he was forced to practice every day and he hated it so he never wanted to do that to me,” Lee said.

But Lee and her mother were persistent. Eventually, Lee’s father made them a deal that if they practiced every day for an hour for a whole month, he would teach Lee how to play the violin.

“So we did. We sawed away for an hour every day for a month,” Lee said.

Today, Lee trains with two violinists Ana Chumachenco and Don Weilerstein.

Last year, Lee took on a lot of new life changes as a freshman at Harvard, planning to study French and Russian comparative literature. This year, Lee took a leave of absence and plans to focus on her music, learn how to cook, and read more books. “I’ve had so many awesome experiences but I wanted to regroup. I can calm down a bit and find out what I really want to say,” Lee said.

Among other things, Lee is very thoughtful about her talents and the role they play in society. “I’ve been blessed…I don’t even know why or how I deserved the kind of love or support I’ve gotten,” Lee said. She chokes up as she talks about one of her fans who started the Anna Lee fan club who plays Lee’s music every time she feels down.

“In order to perform,” Lee said, “You have to perform from a place of abundance. You can’t perform if you only have enough love for yourself.”

When asked about the changing perceptions of classical music in modern society, Lee acknowledges that classical music may not be marketed well enough. “We need to show that we’re more human,” Lee said. Part of her contract includes visiting schools and talking to students about music. “One guy asked me, ‘So like do you have a life?’” Lee recalled. Lee takes that as an opportunity to relay that, all things considered, she lives a pretty normal life. “When I can, I email, I text, I listen to pop music too. Those moments are really precious because it gives me a completely different type of work.”

Anna will be performing on January 26, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Kennedy Center. Tickets are $25 and available at www.kennedycenter.org