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BERNICE LEE  |  OBOIST & OBOE TEACHER

BASED IN LONDON

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Strauss Oboe Concerto, Singapore Symphony Orchestra

"Lee produced a sweet, rounded tone and her delicate playing impressed immediately in the opening phrases."

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- The Straits Times

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About

Me

Singaporean oboist Bernice Lee graduated in 2020 with a distinction in oboe performance (Art Dip.) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was a pupil of Gordon Hunt, Nicholas Daniel and Alison Teale. She was a Guildhall Scholar during her time at the Conservatory and also a Drake Calleja Trust Scholar for the 2018/19 academic year. Most recently in 2020, Bernice won a place in the London Sinfonietta Academy and London Philharmonic Orchestra's Foyle Future Firsts and now freelances professionally with both orchestras.


In 2016, shortly after graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore, Bernice won the President’s Young Performers’ Competition, providing her with the opportunity to give her concerto debut with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, performing Richard Strauss’ oboe concerto. In that same year, she toured Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Les Misérables in Singapore and Dubai, playing the oboe and cor anglais.


An avid orchestral musician, she was the principal oboist of the Young Musicians’ Symphony Orchestra from 2017 to 2019. In addition, she has performed as principal oboist with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra, the highlight being Sibelius’ Second Symphony under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle in July 2017. Later that year in December, Bernice performed live on Radio 3, Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Second Meeting for oboe and piano as part of BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Total Immersion Series.

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In June 2019, Bernice performed at the Wigmore Hall as part of a 10-oboe ensemble for two pieces composed by David Bruce and John Woolrich respectively. From mid 2018 Bernice performed extensively as Guest Co-Principal Oboe with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and in November performed with the Trondheim Soloists on tour in Hong Kong.


Throughout her student years Bernice has participated actively in competitions, most recently winning first prize in the Rising Stars Grand Prix competition in Berlin in May 2018. She was also a finalist in the Royal Over-Seas League Mixed Ensembles Competition in 2020 with Pacific Winds Quintet.


Having a passion for chamber music, she performed with the Cobbett Quartet at the Torroella Music Festival in Spain in July 2017. There, they performed the oboe quartets by Benjamin Britten, W.A. Mozart, Malcolm Arnold and Ernest Moeran. She has also performed Edgard Varese’s Octandre and György Ligeti’s Kammerkonzert with the Guildhall Ubu Contemporary Music Ensemble.

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Most recently, Bernice performed in Carter Dixon McGill's sold-out production of Death Note at the London Palladium in 2023.

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Bernice plays on a Josef 20th Anniversary Series oboe and a Cor Anglais by Marigaux. She is currently based in London.

YOUTUBE

In an effort to support virtual learning, I publish videos on my YouTube channel, a global online community of over 1500 subscribers.
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Oboe
Lessons

Since 2014, I have successfully taught the oboe to over 50 students from 12 different countries.

It is my passion to connect with people from all over the world and guide them towards becoming better oboists and musicians.

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Apart from the oboe, I also offer 1-to-1 lessons in the following disciplines:

Cor Anglais

Reed-Making

Music Theory

Recorder

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TESTIMONIALS
from past and present students

"Bernice is the best oboe teacher we have had so far. She conducts every lesson in a very structural way. Although it's only been a little over 2 months since my daughter started learning oboe with Bernice, my daughter has improved noticeably. We highly recommend Bernice."

Mother of Vintine, 12 years old

SHOP MY REEDS

I sell reeds that cater to all levels of playing.

I make all my reeds from tube cane so as to ensure that I have as much control over all aspects of the reed making process as possible. The finished product is therefore very consistent.

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As a reedmaker, I want my customers to be happy and I know too well how crucial the reed is in oboe playing. Therefore I never sell any beginner reeds that I wouldn't want my own students to play on and likewise, I never sell any professional reeds that I myself would not be happy playing on.

To read more about my reeds and the options I offer, kindly head to my shop.

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ACCOMPANIMENT TRACKS

I believe that knowing the accompaniment well is very important when learning a piece.

Personally, I play a lot better when I understand the accompaniment as well as my own oboe part.

I created these piano accompaniment tracks with this goal in mind - to help oboists in repertoire preparation for the best possible performance.

I find them incredibly useful in familiarising myself with the piano part and my learning of the repertoire is so much more in-depth with the unlimited number of times I can play with accompaniment. It really helps with memorising the music too.

CIMAROSA

Concerto for Oboe and Strings

J.S. BACH

Oboe Concerto in D minor, BWV 1059R

Oboe Sonata in G minor, BWV 1020

Oboe Sonata in G minor, BWV 1030b

HAYDN

Oboe Concerto in C Major

VIVALDI

Oboe Concerto in A minor, RV 461

ENNIO MORRICONE

Gabriel's Oboe

GROVLEZ

Sarabande et Allegro

TELEMANN

Oboe Sonata in A minor, TWV 41:a3

If there's any piece you'd like me to create an accompaniment track for, kindly get in touch.
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BAROQUE

26 Videos, 15 Pieces

Works by C.P.E. Bach, J.S. Bach, Handel, Telemann and Vivaldi.

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ROMANTIC

9 Videos, 8 Pieces

Works by Gabriel Grovlez, Rimsky-Korsakov, York Bowen, Edouard Destenay, Robert Schumann and Richard Struass.

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CLASSICAL

6 Videos, 6 Pieces

Works by Cimarosa, Ferling, Haydn and Mozart.

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20TH CENTURY

11 Videos, 10 Pieces

Works by Bozza, Ennio Morricone, Holliger, Martinů, Ravel, Sancan and Silvestrini.

MY TUTORIAL ARCHIVE

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