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Helen Yee is a violinist, multi-instrumentalist,
composer residing in the worlds of music between East and West,
traditional and new, "high" and "low." Over
her years in New York City she has taken the best of her classical
training and then expanded beyond the confines of that tradition—to
improvise and compose in multiple styles.
Ms. Yee has performed in Off Off Broadway productions of experimental
theatre, including work with Mabou Mines. And in Fall 2006
she wrote and performed music for solo violin for the darkly
comedic play, Krankenhaus Blues, produced by Visible Theatre.
Helen Yee has also performed and recorded with a number of
rock/pop/hip-hop bands including Mairead, Twenty Tippers, Too
Cynical to Cry, and Neycha. As a session musician she has contributed
to a number of movie soundtracks, including Cost of Living,
Number One, Tug of War, and Martin Scorcese's Kundun.
She has performed extensively in the New York area in
venues as diverse as CBGB's, Lincoln Center, and The Metropolitan
Museum of Art. She has been part of residencies at Colgate
University, Peabody Conservatory, workshops at Manhattan
School of Music, and her experience includes many workshops
for children in arts-in-education programs. She was also
recently a presenter on the subjects of alternative chamber
music and strings around the world at the recent American
String Teachers Association national conference.
Helen Yee has also been a long-time member of Music From
China, for which she performs on yangqin and percussion.
Music From China, an ensemble that performs traditional
and new music on traditional Chinese instruments, is a
recipient of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP award for
adventurous programming. In 2000 she appeared on the stage
with Yo-Yo Ma and Music From China in a concert of new
work by Zhou Long, at Washington D.C.'s Freer Gallery.
A native of New York, Ms. Yee began with classical training
and after earning her bachelor's degree at Yale University
continued her studies in jazz and improvisation, including
work with Julie Lyonn Lieberman, Rob Thomas and Roni Ben-Hur.
In addition, she has also explored improvisation in other
contexts including Sound Painting (tm) as directed by Walter
Thompson and vocal and instrumental improvisation with
various groups including Music For People. |
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