Clarinetist and conductor Christopher Lee completed his Master’s degree at Juilliard School where he received Bachelor’s degree on Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship and Eve Lyndlemarch Scholarship (Full Scholarship recipient). He has studied with the world-renowned clarinetist Charles Neidich and Ayako Oshima at The Juilliard School and Cris Inguanti. Mr. Lee has won the first and grand prizes at many competitions such as Korean Clarinet Competition, Vancouver Burnaby Clef Society Competition, Bjorn & Jori Hareid Winds/Brass Competition, Korean Young Artist Competition and more. He was invited to perform and received the certificate at the 5th Carl Nielsen International Clarinet Competition in Odense.
When he was a young clarinetist, he had joined as a principal clarinet of National Youth Symphony Orchestra (NYOC) of Canada, Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra while giving out concerts tour in 12 different cities in North America. For his outstanding performance, he was selected for “Award of Excellence” with the scholarship in NYOC. He has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras including Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra, Pilgrim Orchestra, Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra and The Korean Clarinet Orchestra at Seoul Art Center in South Korea. After his successful performance with VSO, they invited him again to perform for their annual outdoor concert at the Deer Lake Park in Canada that attracts more than 10,000 concertgoers every year.
In 2010, Mr. Lee had been appointed as an executive/artistic director of “First Steps Benefit Concert Series” in Vancouver in 2009-2011 benefiting the children in North Korea. He continues to organize and direct such benefit concert series every year with Jireh Clarinet Ensemble and Jireh Chamber Orchestra to fundraise for the charity societies in Metro Vancouver area.
Christopher Lee is currently the principal clarinet of Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra since 2014 and 2nd clarinet/Bass clarinet player of Vancouver Opera in 2022. He also plays as the principal clarinet of Surrey City Orchestra. Occasionally, he performs with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, Okanagan Symphony Orchestra and more. Mr. Lee is a very active chamber music player as well that he became the member of Vancouver Chamber Players, Vancouver Chamber Society and Cascadia Reed Quintet with one of the top woodwind players from Greater Vancouver. He is devoted to teaching and conducting that he joined the clarinet faculty of Vancouver Academy of Music (S.K Lee College) since 2014 and he is the artistic director of Jireh Music & Performing Art and Vancouver Korean Presbyterian Church. He has very served as one of the woodwind juries for AMMC International Competition 2023.