Lelie Cristea stems from a dynasty of distinguished violinists and violin pedagogues.

Her grandfather Ionel Cristea was a well-known violinist in Bucharest, Romania, who served as concertmaster at his salon orchestra Cristal.

Through her father Ion-Henry Cristea, who after studying with Garabet Avachian completed his pedagogical studies with David Oistrakh in Moscow and Ivan Galamian at the Juilliard School, Lelie was immersed into the most innovative forms of practice in violin technique from the very start of her training. This laid the foundation for her holistic understanding of violin playing and made it her main concern to preserve and pass on this wealth of knowledge. In addition to the realisation of artistic projects, Lelie Cristea’s passion lies entirely in the constant artistic-pedagogical development that has since grown into her own teaching system.

Her violin training from this young age should not be seen as purely artistic, but rather as an equally artistic and pedagogical training, in which the understanding of the right exercises for any technical and musical problem carries the same value as the excellence in playing.

Lelie Cristea, through her solo work, constant search for the best solutions to violin challenges and excellent training, has over the years accumulated an immense treasure of exercises, solutions, and experience, which she shares with her ambitious students in an inspiring way.