Earl Lee

Earl Lee (born 9 December 1983) is a South Korean-born Canadian conductor and cellist.

Early education Lee was born in Yeosu, South Korea. He started piano at the age of 5, and started cello at aged 9. His entire family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada in 1995, then settled into Toronto in 1999. Lee began his career as a cellist in the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. He was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 16; he studied cello with Orlando Cole and Peter Wiley.

Continued education and career

After graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2005, Earl Lee received his master's degree in cello performance from the Juilliard School, where he studied with David Soyer.

Earl Lee was the RBC Resident Conductor for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra between 2015 and 2018. Lee was named assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in August 2021. Lee was named the music director of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in June 2022.

Awards and recognition In 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. 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. In 2013, he also received the Ansbacher Fellowship from the American Austrian Foundation and members of the Vienna Philharmonic; this led to him spending six weeks at the Salzburg Festival.