Six New String Players Join the Seattle Symphony

The new appointments include an associate principal second violin and an associate principal viola

Four violinists and two viola players are set to join the Seattle Symphony at the opening of the 2024/25 season. They are Cameron Daly (associate principal second violin), Katie Liu (associate principal viola), Jacqueline Audas and Ji Yeon Lee (tutti first violins), Wayne Lee (temporary tutti first violin), and Ursula Steele (tutti viola).

Violist Katie Liu studied at Juilliard's pre-college division with Masao Kawasaki, before continuing on to further studies at the Yale School of Music and the Colburn School of Music. Previously, she has held positions as principal viola of the American Youth Symphony and tutti viola at the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

Violinist Cameron Daly is the former first violinist of the Callisto Quartet, and he also studied at the Yale School of Music — where his teachers were Ani Kavafian, Wendy Sharp, and the Brentano Quartet. Previously, he played in the Naples Philharmonic and the New Haven Symphony, as well as appearing at festivals including Ravinia, Taos, Tanglewood, and Aspen.

A graduate of the Peabody Institute and Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, violinist Jacqueline Audas has appeared with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Aspen Music Festival. She is also the founder and artistic director of Classical C.A.R.M.A (Concerts Aiming to Raise Money and Awareness).

Violinist Ji Yeon Lee made her debut with the Indianapolis Symphony when she was just 15 years old. A graduate of Korea National University of the Arts and Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, Lee has appeared at the Taipei Music Academy and Festival, Aspen Music Festival, International Great Mountains Music Festival, Banff Music Festival, and Ishikawa Music Academy.

Violist Ursula Steele studied at the Jacobs School of Music, where she was the recipient of the Kuttner Scholarship. As a result, she received mentoring from the Pacifica Quartet, and undertook a quartet residency at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn. She has held positions with the Royal Swedish Opera and the Indianapolis Symphony.

A member of the Formosa Quartet and the Manhattan Piano Trio, violinist Wayne Lee has performed at the Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, and the National Concert Hall in Taipei. As a pedagogue, he has been on faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, NYO Canada, the University of Houston, the Formosa Chamber Music Festival, and the Taipei Music Academy and Festival.