About Us
Based in Bellevue, The Singing Owls is a chamber choir of 11 members founded in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. Defying being forced into hiatus, the group held weekly online rehearsals and virtual singing. As members found each other frequently working till late at night, the name of Singing Owls emerged. Despite the difficulties in the process, the group produced a good number of audio and video recordings, and found themselves growing eager to sculpt the Owls’ voice.
Led by Ms. Ya-Li Lee, the group’s repertoire covers periods spanning from medieval to present, genres ranging from early music chant, classical, traditional to popular tunes, and languages including Latin, English, Chinese, Taiwanese and Yoruba (Western African Language).
Currently the choir holds weekly rehearsals in person. Our immediate goals are to hold free recitals in communities, to soothe and uplift our audience and to introduce Chinese choral works to the public.
As most members’ experience comes from singing in larger groups, re-calibrating our individual color to fulfill each one’s role in the small chamber ensemble became our current focus. So far, it has been a joyful and rewarding journey and, hopefully, it will lead to more happy discoveries.
室內合唱團“The Singing Owls”成立於 2020 年新冠疫期，共有 11 名成員，由李雅莉老師指導。在疫期裡，熱愛音樂的團員們不甘被迫中斷，於是孜孜不倦地在線上排練並虛擬演唱。大家經常努力到深夜， 頻頻在網上討論到午夜後，因而我們自名為貓頭鷹團。儘管過程困難重重，我們還是製作了不少音頻和視頻，並發現自己更渴望塑造貓頭鷹的團音。
該團在西雅圖以東的Bellevue每週排練一次，練唱曲目涵蓋中世紀到現代，風格囊括早期音樂聖歌、古典、傳統到流行曲調，語言包括拉丁語、英語、漢語、台灣語和約魯巴語（西非語言）。我們的短程目標為參與公益音樂會，傳遞溫暖，將華語合唱樂曲傳播給大眾。
由於大多數成員的經驗來自大合唱團，我們目前練唱著重於重塑、發揮每個人在小室內樂團中的角色。到目前為止，這是個有收穫的旅程，希望能走得長遠、快樂。
Artistic Director
Ya-Li Lee
Ya-Li Lee has performed extensively as soprano in the Pacific Northwest since relocating here in 2004. She was a featured soloist in "Brahms's Girls" with Gallery Concerts, the New Year's Eve Gala with St. James Cathedral Choir, the world premiere performances of a scene from the opera "Road to Zion" by Dolora Zajick, the St. Cecilia Cantata and "The Seven Last Words" by Patrick Stoyanovich. Most recently, Ms. Lee performed Taiwanese composer Tyzen Hsiao’s "Ilha Formosa" with Philharmonia Northwest and Debussy’s "La Damoiselle Elue" with The King’s High School Chamber Orchestra under Ms. Eun Hee Cho’s conducting. The noted music journalist Bernard Jacobson wrote: "Ya-Li Lee, who had by far the largest assignment of the three excellent soloists, has a fine voice and used it with skill and taste.” Ms. Lee received her musical training in Taiwan and Italy. She was the Artistic director of Rong Rong Chinese Folk Choir from 2017-2020. She is currently a soloist and cantor with the St. James Cathedral Choir.
曾經為知名女中音 Dolora Zajick 的獨幕歌劇 "Road to Zion”，以及新銳作曲家 Patrick Stoyanovich 的兩部清唱劇”聖女則季麗亞”和”耶穌臨終七言”，擔任第一女高音之角色。李小姐近期也在 Philharmonia Northwest 福爾摩沙之音音樂會中，擔綱蕭泰然的鎮魂曲之女高音獨唱。資深的音樂評論家 Bernard Jacobson 在他的文章中如此寫道：”Ya-Li Lee, who had by far the largest assignment of three excellent soloists, has a fine voice and used it with skill and taste.”
以優異的成績畢業於台灣國立藝專與義大利國立音樂學院，並且取得聲樂演唱家文憑。李小姐曾受聘於國立台灣藝術大學，國立花蓮師範大學，台中曉明女中和新民高中。自2004年定居西雅圖後，加入 Seattle St. James Cathedral 合唱團，擔任獨唱家和 Cantor 的職務至今。2017-2020曾經擔任融融合唱團指揮。
Collaborative Pianist
Kay Yeh
Kay Yeh is a piano soloist, collaborator, and accompanist. During her past few years in Seattle, she joined the UW Wind Ensemble as a pianist, and was invited by Cultural Affairs Bureau of Chiayi City, Taiwan, and Kin-Long Cultural and Educational Foundation, to give solo recitals at the Chiayi City Concert Hall in September, 2016 and August, 2018.
Kay earned her Master's degree in piano performance from the University of Washington in 2015, and is currently a DMA student under the tutelage of professor Robin McCabe. Prior to coming to Seattle to pursue her passion for piano, Kay's creativity expanded to graphic design and illustration as she earned her Bachelor's degree in Architecture from National Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan.
Members
Sopranos
Altos
Tenors & Basses
Grace Lu 翁曉音
Billie Shung 蘇蕙珠
Diana Chen 徐瑞瑗
Ya-Li Lee 李雅莉
Jane Huang 盧惠真
Nancy Jou 周慧芬
Kathy Tang 張世珩
Ken Shung 熊文凱
Min-Jan Lu 呂民健
Calvin Ling 林永龍
Jerry Chao 趙中和