Hailed a “Miracle” by Gramophone, Trey Lee’s concerto debut at Carnegie Hall won him a standing ovation, with The New York Times declaring him “the excellent cellist… with enveloping richness and lyrical sensitivity”
Lee has worked with esteemed conductors, composers and orchestras worldwide, such as Lorin Maazel, Vassily Sinaisky, Juanjo Mena, Yuri Bashmet, Hannu Lintu, Bright Sheng, Moscow Soloists, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Northern Sinfonia, the Munich and Romanian Radio chamber orchestras, among others. He appears often at major venues and festivals around the world, including the United Nations, Lincoln Center, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Moscow Kremlin, Kuhmo, Banff, Marlboro, Seoul Spring, and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. On stage, Lee partners with many of today's most sought-after stars such as Julia Fischer, Vilde Frang, Pekka Kuusisto and Alexander Sitkovetsky.
As the first Asian winner of the prestigious International Antonio Janigro Cello Competition, Lee has been featured in Financial Times, on CNN and China’s national television CCTV, and Radio Television Hong Kong’s award-winning documentary series “Outstanding Young Chinese Musicians”. Italy’s Il Corriere Della Sera heralded Lee as one of China’s four classical music “Golden Boys & Girls” alongside pianists Lang Lang, Yundi Li and Yuja Wang.
Lee has released several albums under EMI which topped the classical charts. His most recent albums include Bright Sheng’s The Blazing Mirage dedicated to Lee, and The Dream of the Red Chamber Suite with the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan. The latter recording is part of his personal Red Chamber campaign to bring the music of this epic to the world on the cello. Currently a new version is in the works for cello and symphony orchestra.
A co-founder and Artistic Director of Musicus Society, Lee established the groundbreaking Musicus Fest in 2013. Since being appointed an ambassador of UNICEF HK in 2012, Lee has traveled on their behalf to promote children's rights, and in 2014 was joined on stage at the United Nations General Assembly Hall by Yoko Ono, Hugh Jackman, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Angelique Kidjo among others to launch the Imagine Project.
Lee plays on the 1703 "Comte de Gabriac" cello by Venetian master maker Matteo Goffriller.