Violin
Study with World-class Faculty
Multiple award-winning violinist Lee-Chin Siow, who traces her musical lineage to legendary composers and violinists Eugène Ysaÿe and Henryk Wieniawkski, combines a stellar international performance career with teaching, wowing audiences in more than 20 countries on five continents while nurturing the next generation of young violinists in the College of Charleston and beyond.
Her students have won top prizes in international competitions and gained admission to prestigious schools including Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, Johns Hopkins University, Boston University, University of Michigan, University of Cincinnati. For full bio, visit www.leechin.com
Professor of Violin Lee-Chin Siow
- Graduate of Curtis Institute of Music, Mannes College of Music, Oberlin Conservatory
- Gold Medal Winner Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition
- Gold Medal Winner Louise D. McMahon International Music Competition
- Meritorious Award Composers and Authors Society of Singapore
- Fellowship in Music Performance South Carolina Arts Commission
- Faculty of the Year Award College of Charleston School of the Arts
- CD Songs My Father Taught Me on Fanfare Magazine Want List, topped HMV classical charts
- Author of From Clementi to Carnegie – The Journey of Singaporean Violinist Siow Lee Chin published by Straits Times Press
Programs of Study for Violin
Bachelor of Arts
- 4-year program majoring in performance
- conservatory-level instruction in a liberal arts setting
- highly competitive merit-based scholarships for undergraduates
Artist Certificate
- 2-year advanced program in preparation for professional performance careers
- full-tuition scholarships
Weekly Private Lessons with Award-Winning Faculty
Every student benefits from intensive personal attention through weekly private lessons with Professor Siow. The holistic program develops students in solo, ensemble and orchestra performance. Students will have studio and technique classes, and receive dedicated chamber music and orchestra training to enhance their development for the professional world.
Visiting Artists
Violinists work and perform in masterclasses with renowned international artists.
- Almita and Roland Vamos |violin and viola |
Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching
ASTA Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award
Featured in Amy Chua’s bestseller Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Richard Aaron |cello|Juilliard, University of Michigan
- Toby Appel |viola | Juilliard, Carnegie Mellon University
- Leonardo Altino |cello | New England Conservatory
- Dmitri Berlinsky | violin|Grand Prize Montreal International Violin Competition
- Suren Bagratuni |cello | Michigan State University Silver Medal, Tchaikovksy International Competition
- Kathryn Dey |viola |Eastman School of Music
- Eugene Fodor |violin|First Prize International Paganini Competition
- Katharine Gowers |violin |International Parkhouse Award
- Rudolf Haken |viola| University of Illinois
- Anna Rabinova |violin |Manhattan School of Music
- Vagram Saradjian |cello| University of Houston
- Keng-Yuen Tseng |violin| Peabody Conservatory
Support for International Performances
The College provides valuable opportunities for performance in the US and abroad.
Artist Certificate student Erica Carpenedo and violin major Jimena Lovon performed in Singapore’s Esplanade Concert Hall with Professor Siow.
Support for Competitions
Our violinists have won competitions and performed as soloist with orchestra under the guidance of Professor Siow.
Violinist Yuhong Tu from Wuhan, China, won the Georgia Philharmonic Samuel Fordis Young Artist Concerto Competition while studying at the College of Charleston with Professor Siow.
Entreprenuerial Alumni
We are proud of College of Charleston violin graduates who have gone on to make their mark in different cities in the USA and beyond.
Javier Orman graduated Magna cum Laude from the College of Charleston in 2006, where he studied with award-winning violinist Lee-Chin Siow and completed Bachelor degrees in Music and Mathematics with a full scholarship. He went on to receive a Master’s degree in Music from the University of Michigan. After graduation, he founded Kidzymphony, an orchestral program for disadvantaged young children in Charleston inspired by 'El Sistema'.
Orman was the winner of the South Carolina Music Teachers Association competitions in 2002, 2005 and 2006. The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi awarded him a Fellowship in 2007. He was called an “excellent musician, called for great things in his career” by Revista Sinfónica, and Authentic Arden said "Orman is to his violin what Steve Vai is to the guitar. His range is fascinating.” For the past four years, Javier has composed, recorded and performed nationally with KOZM, currently featured in a world-wide AMC commercial. Their albums ‘Mirá’ and 'hello, Kaleidoscope’ received rave reviews: “Beautiful, cinematic, phenomenal” (The Daily Album); “Masterful genre-bending work” (New York Bluegrass Community); “Exceptional genius” (I Am Entertainment Magazine). He has toured with Entropy Ensemble (instrumental Radiohead-cover-band), Terranova Piano Trio (Latin American chamber music) and La Belle Musique (featuring 17th- and 18th- century women composers). He also has recorded for albums by Billy Ray Cyrus, Magnolia Memoir, contemporary LA-based ensemble wildUp, and for the soundtracks of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past', 'The Americans' and others. He recently created Rogue Planet Studio, a project that provides remote strings production services to composers, producers and songwriters around the world.
Orman is also in high demand as a teacher at the SOL-LA Music Academy in Santa Monica, California, where he has led the creation and development of several satellite music programs in schools of various socio-economic contexts.
Check out Javier Orman’s performances:
TV Themes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocoW1coen64
KOZM – Tightrope https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrLe6CrCXvc