Cellist Emma Lee strives to be an artist in every aspect of her life, both on stage and off stage.
This 2022-2023 season, she looks forward to playing with the London Symphony Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda as a Music Academy of the West Keston MAX Winner.
With her true passion lying in the sea of orchestral performance, she has had the privilege of being led under the batons of many artists including Marin Alsop, Elim Chan, James Conlon, Stéphane Denève, Edo de Waart, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Alan Gilbert, Klaus Mäkelä, Gianandrea Noseda, Larry Rachleff, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Michael Tilson Thomas. She is currently in the Colburn Conservatory of Music Orchestra’s Principal Pool.
Lee has had many unique opportunities for collaboration, 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 with Carl St. Clair and the Pacific Symphony at their annual Chinese New Year Concert. 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.
In addition to her solo engagements, Lee has also collaborated as a chamber musician with many artists such as Matthew Aucoin, Glenn Dicterow, Karen Dreyfus, Dennis Kim, and Geraldine Walther.
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.
Lee is actively involved in teaching and coaching students at the Colburn Community School. Community outreach has always been a crucial part of her artistry. 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 is currently a Masters of Music candidate at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where she studies with Clive Greensmith. She recently received her Bachelors of Music degree from the Colburn School in 2021, under the direction of Clive Greensmith, Hans Jensen, and Ronald Leonard. In her spare time, she enjoys sketching and voraciously consuming movies, especially those with iconic music scores.