About the Artists
Julia-Hyunji Lee
Praised for her musical integrity and warmth by the La Jolla Light, Korean-American cellist Julia Lee is committed to creating meaningful and authentic connections through music. A prizewinner of the Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition, she has also been a finalist of the Susan Barbash J.S. Bach Competition, and most recently competed in the prestigious Naumburg International Cello Competition. She has received the Mary Alice Cox Award and First Prize at the Florida Federation of Music Clubs Competition. As a soloist, she has performed with the Ocala Symphony, Alachua County Symphony, and the University of Florida Chamber Orchestra.
A passionate chamber musician, Julia has performed alongside esteemed artists such as Clive Greensmith, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Catherine Cho, Ara Gregorian, Robert McDonald, Inon Barnatan, Blake Pouliot, Merry Peckham, Julie Albers, Molly Carr, and Bion Tsang at the Four Seasons Chamber Festival, La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, Perlman Music Program, and the Music in the Vineyards Festival in Napa Valley.
Recent and upcoming performances include her Alice Tully Hall debut with the Edith Quartet as part of Juilliard’s Honors Chamber Music Program, concerts with the Montage Music Society in Santa Fe, outreach performances with Project: Music Heals Us, and an upcoming recital on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts series and The Santa Fe Fine Arts Series. Julia has worked closely with the Takács Quartet in their string quartet seminar and has performed in Juilliard’s ChamberFest. She also served as principal cellist and coordinator of the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra in 2022.
In orchestral settings, Julia has served as principal cellist of The Juilliard Orchestra for four consecutive years, performing under conductors such as Marin Alsop, Gustavo Dudamel, David Robertson, David Chan, Carlos Miguel Prieto, and Mei-Ann Chen. Her recent performances include a side-by-side concert with the New York Philharmonic, a substitute appearance with the New World Symphony, and principal cello in Juilliard’s 2x4 Kennedy Center collaboration with Jaime Laredo and Jennifer Koh.
Julia earned her Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School under the mentorship of Darrett Adkins and a Master of Music with the late Joel Krosnick under a C.V. Starr Scholarship. She is grateful to have been previously mentored by Wendy Warner and Chungsun Kim. Other musical inspirations in her life include Laurence Lesser and Frans Helmerson.
Umi Garrett
Umi Garrett is a highly accomplished solo, collaborative, and chamber pianist based in New York City. A first-prize winner of the Juilliard School’s Concerto Competition and a finalist at the National Chopin Piano Competition, Umi has performed numerous recitals in the United States and internationally. As a dedicated collaborator, Umi has performed at renowned competitions such as the Primrose International Viola Competition and the Sphinx Competition with prize-winners. Most recently, Umi was awarded the John Newmark Prize for Best Collaborative Pianist for her performances with finalist Nathan Meltzer at the 2023 Montreal International Violin Competition.
Umi has performed and toured with orchestras such as the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Boca Raton, Boston Symphony and Pops, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Wuhan Symphony Orchestra, and the New Mexico Philharmonic. Umi is also a passionate performer of new music, and has collaborated with and performed pieces by acclaimed composers such as Samuel Adler, inti figgis-vizueta, and Gabriela Smith.
In addition to her artistic endeavors, Umi is deeply committed to non-profit organizations and humanitarian causes, organizing two arts festivals at the height of COVID and co-founding Pacific Academy Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing scholarships to young artists, athletes, and scholars. Umi has also given lecture-performances at TEDx conferences and La Ciudad de las Ideas in Mexico.
Umi has released three solo albums and is set to release her most recent album this season of the complete Beethoven Sonatas for piano and cello, recorded in collaboration with cellist Emily Mantone. Umi is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Piano Performance at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Hung-Kuan Chen where she is a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship. Umi is a Young Steinway Artist.