Raphaël Sévère

Discovered by the public at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2010 when he was nominated for “Révélation Soliste Instrumental” at the age of 15, Raphaël Sévère currently ranks as the youngest representative of the French school of clarinet. His outstanding musical record is highlighted by winning the 1st Prize at the Tokyo International Competition at the age of 12, as well as the 1st Prize and eight (out of 10) Special Prizes of the Young Concert Artists Competition in New York in 2013.

Sévère has made concerto débuts with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester at the Berlin Philharmonie, Orchestra of St Luke’s at the Alice Tully Hall in New York, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre Symphonique de l’Opéra de Toulon, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Orchestre de l’ Opéra de Lorraine, Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Sinfonia Varsovia etc.

In solo and chamber recitals, Sévère has performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Kennedy Center in Washington, Merkin Hall in New York, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, KKL Luzern, Fondazione La Società dei Concerti in Milan, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, French May Arts Festival in Hong Kong, Festival International de Colmar, Menton Festival, Grand Théâtre d’ Aix-en-Provence, Festival Musiques en Été in Geneva etc. He has shared the stage with chamber music partners such as the Modigliani, Ébène, Pražák and Van Kuijk quartets, the Wanderer and Messiaen trios, Martha Argerich, Boris Berezovsky, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, Gidon Kremer, David Grimal, Gérard Caussé, Antoine Tamestit, Gary Hoffman, Xavier Phillips, François Salque and more. He performs regularly with pianist Adam Laloum and cellist Victor Julien-Laferrière, with whom he released an album dedicated to Brahms on the Mirare label which received a Diapason d’ Or in 2015.

As a composer, his first work Obscurs for clarinet and guitar was published by Éditions l’ Empreinte Mélodique in 2016 and premiered at Salle Cortot in Paris with Antoine Morinière. In 2019, he composed his Seven Miniatures for solo piano and Entre Chien et Loup for solo guitar. In 2020, he wrote his first concerto for clarinet and orchestra, commissioned by the Orchestre National de Bretagne.

Sévère’s recordings on the Mirare label have received the Diapason d’Or, ffff Télérama and Choc-Classica awards. In 2017, he released an album dedicated to Carl Maria von Weber’s first Clarinet Concerto, recorded at the Berlin Philharmonie with the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin under the direction of Aziz Shokhakimov, as well as two of the composer’s other works with pianist Jean-Frédéric Neuburger. Having enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration with the Trio Messiaen, they released an album in 2018 devoted to the Quatuor Pour la Fin du Temps by Olivier Messiaen, as well as Court Studies from “The Tempest” by Thomas Adès. His latest album is dedicated to Mozart’ s Clarinet Concerto and Quintet, recorded with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris under Lars Vogt, and with the Quatuor Modigliani. 

Colleen Lee

Since winning the 6^th Prize at the 15^th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition, Colleen Lee has performed extensively throughout Asia, Europe and North America in solo recitals and with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Galicia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Hong Kong Philharmonic, among others. Lee was the Artist Associate of Hong Kong Sinfonietta in 2010/2011, and has toured with the orchestra in South America, Italy and Taiwan. Last season, she made multiple appearances alongside leading international artists in the HKS Recital Series, and performed with the orchestra in Shenzhen at China’s largest outdoor classical music festival – The Lian Hua Shan Glades Music Festival – under the baton of Music Director Emeritus Yip Wing-sie.

Lee has been a featured artist at several international music festivals including the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki and Gdansk in Poland, Assisi International Piano Festival in Italy, Meissen Pianoforte Festival in Germany, International Keyboard Festival in New York, Bowdoin International Music Festival and Musicus Fest in Espoo, Finland. Her performance of the “Magic Piano and Chopin Shorts” animation series at the 42^nd Hong Kong Arts Festival had garnered rave review.  She was invited to perform twice in the “Beethoven Piano Sonatas Marathon” in Vienna and Hong Kong. She appeared as soloist with the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble in the 2018 Shanghai New Music Week. In 2019, she made her début with London Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle.

As an enthusiastic chamber musician, Lee frequently appears in chamber music concerts and has also collaborated with world-famous instrumentalists including violinists Ning Feng and Kang Dong-suk, cellists Trey Lee, Daniel Müller-Schott and Alexander Kniazev, trumpet virtuoso Sergei Nakariakov, and the Shanghai Quartet. She is also a member of the RTHK Chamber Soloists which was formed in 2018.

Born in Hong Kong, Lee started her piano lessons at the age of four.  Subsequently she was trained at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) under Eleanor Wong and at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover with Arie Vardi. She won the First Prize at the 3rd Seiler International Piano Competition in Kitzingen, Germany, the 2003 Dorothy Mackenzie Artist Recognition Award, Third Place and Critic and Audience Prizes at the 15^th International Competition for Piano and Orchestra in Cantú, Italy, and was a prize winner at the 1^st Hong Kong International Piano Competition, the Pro Musicis International Award, Gina Bachauer International Artist Competition, Sendai International Music Competition, and the 16^th Santander International Piano Competition in Spain.

Lee’s discography includes an all-Chopin album recorded on the Pleyel Piano released by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, and a complete Scarlatti Sonatas album by Naxos. She was also featured on the Hong Kong Sinfonietta DECCA album This is Classical Music 3.

In recognition of Lee’s outstanding achievements in music and in the promotion of arts and culture, she has been awarded Certificate of Commendation by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Commendation for Community Service by the Hong Kong Government and Young Artist Award by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Currently Lee is the Honorary-Artist-in-Residence of The Education University of Hong Kong and on the piano faculty of HKAPA and Hong Kong Baptist University.