Cellist Emma Lee strives to be an artist in every aspect of her life, both on stage and off stage.
With her true passion lying in the sea of orchestral performance, Lee joins the Pacific Symphony cello section in the Fall of 2023. Lee has been led under the batons of many artists including Marin Alsop, Elim Chan, Carl St. Clair, James Conlon, Stéphane Denève, Edo de Waart, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Alan Gilbert, Klaus Mäkelä, Gianandrea Noseda, Larry Rachleff, Sir Simon Rattle, and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Lee has performed with prestigious orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, and the Verbier Festival Orchestra. She has been featured as a Principal cellist of the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, and she was a member of the Colburn Conservatory of Music Orchestra’s Principal Pool. Lee has performed at legendary venues worldwide such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the Barbican in London, and Usher Hall in Edinburgh.
A musician fueled by thrilling collaborations, Lee’s passion for chamber music has led her to collaborate with many renowned artists such as Matthew Aucoin, Glenn Dicterow, Karen Dreyfus, Dennis Kim, David Rejano, and Geraldine Walther.
Lee has been involved in many unique opportunities, including her performance of Bach’s Cello Suites with the New York City Ballet Principal Daniel Ulbricht in the Colburn School’s revolutionary See the Music, Hear the Dance series. She has also been invited to solo and perform in the cello section of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra with Carl St. Clair. She was awarded the opportunity to solo as a winner of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra Competition. She has been featured at the Granada Theater in Santa Barbara under the Music Academy of the West.
Expanding her musical horizon, Lee is always searching for new opportunities to break the mold. She was a performer and soloist alongside many classical and rock legends in From Classical to Rock, a concert to benefit music education for the younger generation. She has also been featured in the discography of Miljenko Matijevic of Steelheart.
As a community arts advocate, Lee is actively involved in teaching and coaching students at the Colburn Community School and Orange County Music & Dance, where she is a cello faculty member. Her lifelong goal involves the healthy exposure of music with the young minds of today.
Raised in Orange County, California, her early musical mentors have been David Dunford, Stan Sharp, and Lynn Harrell. She has been a leading performing member of the Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles, bringing music to the Orange County community for 6 seasons. Gaining experience through her mentors in the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Music Director Carl St. Clair, and Assistant Musical Directors Alejandro Gutierrez and Dr. Roger Kalia, she adopted the value of the relationship of a musician with their community.
Lee has received her Masters of Music and Bachelors of Music at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Clive Greensmith, Ben Hong, Hans Jensen, and Ron Leonard. In her spare time, she enjoys sketching and voraciously consuming movies, especially those with iconic music scores.