Earl Lee
A participant of the 2017/18 Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra RBC Emerging Canadian Conductors Showcase, Earl Lee has gone on to become internationally renowned, captivating audiences worldwide. Currently the music director of the Ann Arbor Symphony and assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Korean-Canadian artist was named the winner of the 2022 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. He has stood at the helm of the San Francisco Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, and the New York Philharmonic in its annual Lunar New Year Gala. Lee has also served as associate conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and previously was resident conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Lee takes great pleasure in mentoring young musicians, especially in his past roles as former artistic director and conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, and as music director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. Lee is also a regular guest conductor with the orchestras of North America’s top music schools, such as Manhattan School of Music and the New England and San Francisco Royal Conservatories.
In addition to conducting, Lee is also an accomplished cellist, and has performed in both roles for audiences around the world.
Lee has degrees in cello from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, and in conducting from the Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory. He was the recipient of the 50th Anniversary Heinz Unger Award from the Ontario Arts Council in 2018, of a Solti Career Assistance Award in 2021, and has been awarded a Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Scholarship by Kurt Masur and the Ansbacher Fellowship by the American Austrian Foundation and members of the Vienna Philharmonic. He lives in New York City with his wife and their daughter.
