Emerald City Music

In 2015, Kristin Lee co-founded Emerald City Music, a Seattle-based chamber music series, with the aim of transforming the traditional classical music experience.

Emerald City Music (ECM) is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Deemed "the beacon for the casual-classical movement" (CityArts), ECM hosts world-renowned musicians in unique concert experiences in its South Lake Union home venue, 415 Westlake. Catch them on tour also in residence in Olympia, Bellingham, and New York City.

Founded in 2015, Emerald City Music produces and tours seven productions annually, with each tour visiting Seattle’s South Lake Union (415 Westlake, a chic contemporary venue with an open bar), Olympia’s Minnaert Center (a 495 seat modern concert hall), a once annual concert at the Bellingham Music Festival, and an annual concert in New York City.

ECM gained recognition regionally and nationally as a major player in the chamber music scene. Artistic Director Kristin Lee – a touring violinist awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant and who is a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center – is regarded for her innovative programming that both honors the tradition of chamber music while expanding the genre’s boundary past common limits.

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In the process of creating a welcoming and more inclusive environment for intimate music-making, they promote their series [Emerald City Music] by chalking street corners in South Lake Union to get the word out, treating social media as their friend, staging pop­up performances at Microsoft and Google, hosting meetups and collaborating with young professionals."
– The Seattle Times
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UPCOMING

Mar

6

8:00 pm

Emerald City Music

Mar 6, 2026 8:00 PM
March 6, 2026
415 Westlake Seattle, WA

Emerald City Music presents Kristin Lee and Sandbox percussion in the world premiere of a new work by Vivian Fung.

Mar

7

7:30 pm

Emerald City Music

Mar 7, 2026 7:30 PM
March 7, 2026
Kenneth J. Minnaert Center Olympia, WA

Emerald City Music presents Kristin Lee and Sandbox percussion in the world premiere of a new work by Vivian Fung.

Mar

12

7:30 pm

Carnegie Hall

Mar 12, 2026 7:30 PM
March 12, 2026
Weill Recital Hall

Kristin Lee celebrates the distinctive sounds and rich historic currents of American music in her Carnegie Hall debut recital with pianist John Novacek.

Mar

6

8:00 pm

Emerald City Music

Mar 6, 2026 8:00 PM
March 6, 2026
415 Westlake Seattle, WA

Emerald City Music presents Kristin Lee and Sandbox percussion in the world premiere of a new work by Vivian Fung.

Full Calendar