Earl Lee (born 9 December 1983) is a South Korean-born Canadian[1] conductor and cellist.
Earl Lee | |
|---|---|
 Earl Lee conducting in 2019. | |
| Born | 9 December 1983 |
| Occupation(s) | conductor, cellist |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Website | earlleeconductor |
Early education
editLee was born in Yeosu, South Korea.[2] He started piano at the age of 5, and started cello at aged 9.[citation needed] His entire family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada in 1995,[3][verification needed] then settled into Toronto in 1999.[citation needed] Lee began his career as a cellist in the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra.[4] He was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 16;[citation needed] he studied cello with Orlando Cole and Peter Wiley.[3]
Lee was diagnosed with focal dystonia when he was 24. He flew to South Korea to seek an acupuncture specialist, but did not garner results. He sought out Spanish experts in the condition, but the recovery was slow and unpredictable. He then turned to conducting.[5]
Continued education and career
editAfter graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2005,[citation needed] Earl Lee received his master's degree in cello performance from the Juilliard School, where he studied with David Soyer.[3] When he began transitioning into a conducting career, he studied with Ignat Solzhenitsyn in 2010. Lee received his master's degree in conducting from the Manhattan School of Music in 2013 under the tutelage of George Manahan. His post-graduate conducting studies were done with Hugh Wolff at the New England Conservatory of Music.[6]
Earl Lee was the RBC Resident Conductor for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra between 2015 and 2018.[1][4] Lee was associate conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra between 2018 and 2022.[6][7] Lee was named assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in August 2021.[8] Lee was named the music director of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in June 2022.[9]
Awards and recognition
editIn 2018, Lee was awarded the 50th Anniversary Heinz Unger Award from the Ontario Arts Council, recognizing him as one of Canada's most promising emerging conductors.[10] He received the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Scholarship in 2013, chosen by conductor Kurt Masur; as a result he was invited to Leipzig to study the music and life of Felix Mendelssohn.[11] In 2013, he also received the Ansbacher Fellowship from the American Austrian Foundation[12] and members of the Vienna Philharmonic;[13] this led to him spending six weeks at the Salzburg Festival.[11]
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Earl Lee wins RBC Resident Conductor". Newswire. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ "Earl Lee". Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Earl Lee, Cello". Classical Connect. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ a b Vincent, Michael (25 April 2018). "The Scoop: Earl Lee Named Associate Conductor of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra". Ludwig Van Toronto. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ D'Cruz, Andrew (12 May 2018). "TSO's resident conductor strikes the right note". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ a b "PSO Announces Earl Lee as New Associate Conductor". Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ Goetz, Julie (27 October 2021). "Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Appoints Two New Assistant Conductors". Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ Salazar, David (9 August 2021). "Boston Symphony Orchestra Announces New Assistant Conductor". OperaWire. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ "The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra appoints Earl Lee as its new Music Director". Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ Wasser, Shoshana (12 April 2018). "Earl Lee honoured with 50th anniversary Heinz Unger Award". Ontario Arts Council. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Earl Lee". Classically Connected. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ "AAF Young Conductors" (PDF). The American Austrian Foundation. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ "Earl Lee". Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 16 October 2024.