Elissa Lee

Elissa Lee is a Juno Award-winning violinist and Founder and Director of BIGLAKE Arts. She has appeared as a soloist with top orchestras across Canada, and has held the position of second concertmaster in the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (Norway) and the WDR Sinfonie Orchester (Germany), respectively. She joined Ensemble Made In Canada in 2010, performing concerts and tours throughout Canada and the United States, and in her busy freelance career, she frequently tours festivals and concert halls throughout Europe.

In 2018, Elissa co-founded BIGLAKE Arts with Johannes Debus, with a mission to bring exceptional music experiences and diverse year-round programming to audiences in Prince Edward County, allowing classical musicians the freedom to explore, collaborate and perform in unexpected ways against the scenic backdrop of the County.

Each summer, the team brings together renowned musicians from the classical music world to perform at BIGLAKE Festival, a week-long celebration that’s always sure to delight classical music lovers with performances in venues throughout Prince Edward County. This year’s festival takes place August 15th-23rd, with the festival programme and artist lineup to be revealed this month.

During the off-season months, BIGLAKE keeps the music flowing with a winter concert series. The final installment in this winter’s concert series is taking place on April 13th, 2025 at the Wellington Heritage Museum. New to BIGLAKE, the lyrical and expressive guitar quartet, Quartet Malamatina, will be performing a concert that’s a celebration of global rhythms and dance with their not-to-be-missed programme, Baila.

With so much on the go, we were delighted to have Elissa share helpful tools and advice for musicians, upcoming BIGLAKE projects, and even her favourite comfort foods in this month’s Artist Feature – read on to learn more!

Tell us about your upcoming projects:

BIGLAKE is holding its 5th summer festival this year, so I feel like a proud mother of a beautiful budding child! Reflecting back, I am in awe of where we have arrived and I am so grateful to the community of PEC and many generous individuals that have helped us become a thread in this special place, connecting people through music. We have expanded our offerings and now have concerts outside of the festival week, and we are in particular looking forward to our upcoming guitar quartet concert on April 13th with Quartet Malamatina at the Wellington Museum, which is also the date we will be revealing the 2025 summer festival programme.

Which tools or resources have helped you the most in your artistic career?

The training of a classical musician is grueling and demanding, and it is constantly unravelling and threatening your self-image and self-confidence. While the general mindset of constantly searching for more and never being satisfied with where you are at is crucial to becoming a great artist, it was super important for me to learn that once on stage, I need to completely change my mindset and stand behind what I was delivering 150%. I had to believe and trust myself and rely on the years of training to pull through, even if doubts remained and preparation time was minimal. Learning to switch mindsets was crucial for me to deliver technically every time, and to deliver an authentic interpretation of the music I am performing.

What advice would you give to artists just starting out in their careers?

Go to concerts. This seems obvious, but you would surprised how many young musicians opt to practice or chill out with Netflix instead. When you go to concerts, you learn by listening and observing, and you also figure out what you do not like, which is also super important! Don’t limit yourself to your specialized area, listen to all types of music. The more you listen, the more you develop your ears and you also gain an understanding of what moves you and what doesn’t. Ask questions. There are no dumb questions. Asking questions, especially why questions, shows your interest and curiosity. This is the fastest way to learn. Don’t expect people to tell you what you need to know. Don’t be shy, you need to ask!

What is your favourite comfort food?

There are two things that I tend to crave after a being on the road: chicken soup with rice and spaghetti with tomato sauce, both with a side of kimchi if possible! I love going out and eating out but after a while, I just crave clean and simple tasting food. I tend to have a tupperware of both of these things in the freezer, so I can enjoy simple homemade food after a long trip without having to go to the grocery store.