Sydney Lee has established herself as a cellist of refined elegance and depth, drawing audiences in with her artistry and sincerity. She received 1st prize at the 2022 Washington International Competition and 2nd prize at the Classic Strings International Competition, where she was praised for her performance of Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante as “mesmerizing” and “a performance to treasure” by British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. Most recently, she was the inaugural recipient of the $50,000 Gurrena Fellowship from Meadowmount School of Music.

Since making her debut at age 13 with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Sydney has continued to perform extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia in many of the world’s leading venues, including the Kennedy Center, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium, and Konzerthaus Berlin. She recently performed Shostakovich Concerto No. 1 with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Yaniv Dinur as part of their Classics Series and was invited to the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki to perform and teach masterclasses as part of CelloFest.

Sydney founded the Galvin Cello Quartet, an ensemble that quickly gained international recognition following their silver medal win at the 2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Galvin has been represented by Concert Artists Guild as winners of the esteemed 2022 Victor Elmaleh Competition. In their upcoming season, the quartet will return to New York City’s Merkin Hall and Newport Classical, as well as appearances at Mesa Arts Center, El Paso Pro Musica, and Sitka Music Festival upon invitation from cellist Zuill Bailey.

Passionate about fostering arts education, Sydney serves on the Board of Directors of the Back to Bach Project, a global initiative with over 70 regions and 800 members that seeks to inspire young children through arts education and community engagement. She spearheaded the establishment of the Calgary, Canada, and Delaware County, PA regional chapters as Director of Global Operations and under the guidance of Midori, curated a three-way collaboration between Play on Philly, Curtis Institute of Music, and Back to Bach Project. Furthermore, as a Back to Bach Soloist, she has led numerous virtual music education seminars for young audiences all across the United States, Spain, and France. Sydney’s unwavering commitment to her philanthropic endeavors led to Back to Bach’s receipt of funding in 2020 from the esteemed U.S. Presidential Scholars Foundation and Alumni Association Seed Grant Program.

Born and raised in New York City, Sydney is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music and Northwestern University. She is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern with Hans Jorgen Jensen. She is currently Adjunct Cello Professor of the McDuffie Center for Strings in Macon, Georgia.