Because it was mandatory, Kristin Lee lived on campus in a dorm last year as a freshman at the Juilliard School in New York City. When the year ended, she moved back to New Jersey with her mother and sister. She prefers the food at home, her own bed and the closer proximity to her church, where she directs music on Sundays.

As a sophomore, she now gets up extra early to catch a bus to the city each day. The ride is usually about an hour, often more. She listens to music or sleeps. Once at Juilliard, she takes private violin lessons and humanities courses. Two days a week, she has orchestra class, where she takes her place among the first violinists in a vaulting sunlit room at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Juilliard’s home in Manhattan. Sometimes she stays late for concerts, but typically she returns home diligently to be with her family. Often, she stays in New Jersey for the entire weekend, practicing, writing in her journal, listening to music and seeing old friends from the public high school from which she graduated.

When she’s not at school or at home, Lee, who is 19, has another life. Since age 10, when she performed at a concert in Atlanta, she has had an international solo career. On Jan. 8, the rising star will perform works by Beethoven, Brahms and others at Minsky Recital Hall as part of the Maine Center for the Arts Chamber Music Society series.

In addition to an early start as an artist – Lee has been playing music since age 5 – she has also received the endorsement of veteran virtuoso violinist Itzhak Perlman. Perlman was not available over the holidays to speak about Lee, but through a manager he sent an e-mail describing Lee as having flawless technique and a unique musical personality. Lending her his support, he said, is easy. “She’s just terrific,” he relayed.

Born in Korea to parents with musical ambitions, Lee has been on a musical trajectory since birth. When her father was given a teaching position in the U.S., the family followed. Lee was 9 at the time. When her father returned to Korea, the rest of the family stayed behind so she and her sister could pursue music. They visit with dad several times a year, either in Korea or New Jersey.

Initially, it was Lee’s big sister who garnered attention at a music talent. The older sibling has since moved on to chemical engineering.

“I’m the one who fell in love with it,” said Lee, on a recent blustery winter day in New York City. She was having lunch between classes at Caf? Mozart, a nearby restaurant popular with Juilliard students. “I’ve always loved all kinds of music. In high school, I played the trumpet for a while. I’ve played the clarinet, too. Even now, I still love the piano over the violin. But I couldn’t carry the piano from Korea.”

Lee smiled as she confessed a love for the romantic music of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

“When I tell my friends I like Rachmaninoff, they say it’s cheesy, that it’s not sophisticated,” she said. “But it’s music anyone can relate to, not just classical musicians. I love all music. I’m a big fan of jazz. I love pop. Only listening to classical music could get boring. In my Ipod, I don’t have that much classical music. And if you’re only listening to your own music with your own instrument, you don’t get the variety of how to express yourself.”

Variety means a lot to Lee. She’s just as comfortable talking about orchestral music – “To me, it’s perfection: everything coming together and all the instruments as one” – as about religion – “I’m religious. I feel my music is part of God’s plan. But I’ve worked really, really hard, too.”

So hard that she feels the violin is part of her body. As time goes by, she increasingly understands that music isn’t just about hitting notes. It’s about connecting to the composer and the audience, too.

She also isn’t hesitant when it comes to expressing her ambitions. Classical musicians must think of themselves as entertainers, she said. And they have to have great looks (which she does).

They also have to have ambition, and Lee isn’t hesitant to express hers – even if she does sound more like a rock star: “What I want to do is be famous. It’s the ultimate goal for everybody. It’s a good dream, right?”

The Maine Center for the Arts will present Kristin Lee at 3 p.m. Jan. 8 at Minsky Recital Hall at the University of Maine. For tickets, call 581-1755.