Rate My Professor Shaun Lee-Chen

Shaun Lee-Chen serves as Lecturer, Artist in Residence, and Associate Lecturer at the University of Western Australia Conservatorium of Music. An internationally celebrated violinist, he holds a special interest in historical performance and 19th-century violin pedagogy. He completed a Bachelor of Music at UWA in 2000 as the most outstanding student in his year, earning numerous prizes under the tutelage of Emeritus Professor Paul Wright, former Concertmaster of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. In 2007, Lee-Chen won the prestigious ABC Young Performer of the Year Award. His career encompasses leadership as Concertmaster of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra since 2016, where he also featured as soloist on the ARIA-nominated Brandenburg Celebrates album in 2015. He has performed as soloist with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Orchestra, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and served as guest Assistant and Associate Concertmaster with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and West Australian Symphony Orchestra. As Chair of Upper Strings and Head of Violin Studies at UWA, he mentors students and directs initiatives in strings performance.

Lee-Chen is a founding member and co-director of the Irwin Street Collective, a period instrument chamber ensemble based at the UWA Conservatorium, focusing on 17th- to 19th-century repertoire. His research expertise lies in 19th Century Performance Practice, evidenced by a portfolio of non-traditional research outputs including performances such as Brandenburg and Circa (2025), Water Music - Brandenburg and Rrawun Maymuru (2025), Woman, Blazing: A Pastiche (2025), Handel's Messiah excerpts (2024), and Love and Lockdown: A Pastiche Opera (2021). Additional activities encompass UWA Conservatorium Lunchtime Concerts and collaborations like the ANAM/Melbourne Digital Concert Hall performance (2020). Through his roles in performance, education, and ensemble direction, Lee-Chen significantly influences historical performance practices and violin pedagogy in Australia.