| Lynnette Seah 佘美幸 | |
| Background: | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Birth Name: | Seah Mei Tsing |
| Birth Place: | Singapore |
| Instrument: | Violin |
| Genre: | Classical music |
| Occupation: | violinist, concertmistress |
Lynnette Seah Mei Tsing is a Singaporean violinist, serving as co-leader of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO).[1] [2] She received the Cultural Medallion for Music in 2006.[3]
Seah began her formal music education on the piano at the age of five under the guidance of her mother, Lau Biau Chin. She started learning the violin at six with Goh Soon Tioe and later studied with professional violin teacher Alphonso Anthony.[4] At 15, Seah was appointed Associate Concertmaster of the Bishop Symphony Orchestra at the International Music Camp in Adelaide, Australia. In the same year, she represented Singapore in the Southeast Asian Violin Competition and earned a scholarship to study at the Hannover Hochschule for Music in Germany.[5]
Seah has studied with several renowned violin instructors, including David Mankowitz in Toronto, Professor Friedrich von Hausegger in Hannover, Professor Karel Sneberger in Prague, Yfrah Neaman in London, and Dorothy DeLay in New York.
As a violin soloist, Seah has performed with various orchestras around the world, such as the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Gstaad Menuhin Festival Orchestra, Orebro Chamber Orchestra, Teplice Symphony Orchestra, and Zurich Symphony Orchestra. Seah has also played in several festivals, including the Bergen International Festival, Singapore Arts Festival and the Swiss Festival. In 2005, Seah commissioned Singaporean composer Bernard Tan to compose a concerto, Violin Concerto, dedicated to her.[6] The concerto premiered on 7 January 2006 at Singapore's Esplanade Concert Hall by Seah herself with the SSO with Chinese-American conductor Lan Shui.
Seah is active in the chamber music community. She is the leader and founder of the Jade String Quartet,[7] one of the few professional chamber music groups in Singapore.
Seah is one of the founders of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Alongside her work as a soloist and a concertmaster, Seah is a member of the Advisory Committee for the "Violin Loan Scheme", a scheme run by the Singapore National Arts Council. Seah is a member of Singapore's Education Ministry's Arts Education Committee, which oversees various arts institutions such as the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and the LASALLE College of the Arts.
In 1997, the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore conferred on Seah the Excellence Award in recognition of her contribution to Singapore's classical music scene.
In 2006, SSO nominated and awarded Seah with the Cultural Medallion for Music.[8] Seah received the award from the, then President of Singapore, S R Nathan at the Istana. She performed Bach's Partita No.3 and Elgar's Salut d'Amour during the award ceremony.
Seah is divorced from Hans Simon.[9] They have two sons, Maurice and Andre.[10]