Lee’s musical journey began at the age of eight, when his grandparents bought him a little synthesizer keyboard. He spent hours exploring the sounds and beats and pre-recorded tunes: his parents had to force him to go outside! He had a few years of lessons with teachers who nurtured his passion for music. During his years without a teacher, he learned to play and arrange his favourite songs by ear. In 2011, he entered a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance and Music History at the University of Regina, and began his first forays into a professional career as a musician.
In 2016, he returned to his hometown of Regina after graduating from Western University (London, ON) with a masters in musicology. He began teaching piano, and threw himself into pedagogy research: not just because he wanted to learn how to teach, but because of nagging problems with tendinitis. The demands of playing professionally and lack of adequate formative instruction had caught up with him: some days, he could barely lift a 4 litre jug of milk. Learning principles of bodily alignment, awareness and effortlessness was a revolution, not just for his teaching, but for his playing. He continues to emphasize this in his teaching and playing. Sound that is produced effortlessly not only feels better, and reduces injury, but is the very basis of artistry.
Lee is passionate about nurturing well-rounded musicians. He values bottom-up approaches to learning: allowing the student to explore, discover and create, in their own way, on their own terms. Together, teacher and student learn about physical mechanics, note-reading, improvising, performing, lead-sheet and chord reading, arrangement, and how to practice. More than that, they learn the joy of creating; how to break down a large looming task to avoid overwhelm; how to cope with performance anxiety; and how to persevere.
Lee draws on his professional career of music-making to inform his teaching, with years of experience in playing and performing. He has accompanied for singers and instrumentalists of all ages and skill levels; he has accompanied choirs, from community choir to professional chamber choir; he has been music director of churches, leading choirs and playing for services. He has also performed as a harpsichordist, and adores early music performance practices! He has also recorded keys and synths on albums, and played live with these groups.