Hae-Jong Lee

Bio

Dr. Hae-Jong Lee, a native of South Korea, has directed, for more than 35 years, church choirs, high school choirs, honor choirs, college choirs, community choirs and professional choirs in Korea and the United States. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Seoul National University and his Master of Music degree from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ. Lee received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting and literature from University of Illinois, Champaign, IL.

At the University of Illinois he directed the University of Illinois Chorus and served as Chorus Master of the University of Illinois Opera Company. While staying in Princeton, he toured Taiwan, Korea, France (Colmar International Festival), and Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, with the renowned Westminster Choir. He, as vocalist, had performed with major orchestras including New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Luke Orchestra, LA Philharmonic Orchestra, and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra under the baton of world class conductors including Kurt Mazur, Wolfgang Sawallish, Zdenek Makal, Helmuth Rilling, Joseph Flummerfelt, and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

As voice teacher, he has taught numerous singers including wide range of ages in both Korea and the U.S. He joined the Dana School of Music as Director of Choral Activities in 2002. At the Dana School of Music he directs Dana choral ensembles and teaches undergraduate choral/instrumental conducting and advanced choral conducting classes. He also supervises graduate choral conducting students. Lee had been the Chorus Master of the Opera Western Reserve during 2005-2015. He has been the Artistic Director of the Stambaugh Chorus since 2009. He had directed the Cleveland Korean Presbyterian Church Choir and Chamber Orchestra during 2004-2014. Currently he directs the Zion Community Church choir in Cleveland, OH. His choral music review has appeared in Choral Journal, the official national publication of ACDA.

Lee’s conducting teachers include Joseph Flummerfelt, James Jordan, Andrew Megill, Fred Stoltzfus, Don Moses (choral conducting); Donald Schleiger and Bong-Heun Yoo (orchestral conducting). He is interested in performing not only pure choral compositions but also major choral/orchestral works.

Some of his choral/orchestral works performed at the Dana School of Music include Handel’s Messiah and Utrecht Te Deum; Faure’s Requiem; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Finale “Ode to Joy”; Rutter’s Gloria, Requiem, and Magnificat; Poulenc’s Gloria; Vivaldi’s Gloria; Jenkins’ Gloria and The Armed Man; Mozart’s Requiem; and many more. He is excited to conduct Handel’s Messiah annually as the Director of the Warren Civic Chorus since fall 2013.

In addition to his duty as a college educator, he is fully committed to promote choral singing in the community, making unity and peace through choral singing. He remains active as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for a variety of choral events in the U.S. and Korea. Some of his recent activities include his appearances with Korean choirs as a guest conductor, in Korean music workshops as a master clinician and in the Ohio Music Educators Association conferences as a clinician. One of his most recent activities includes a lecture appearance at the 10th World Symposium on Choral Music in Seoul, Korea during August 2014. Lee has also been one of six international jurors for Busan Choral Festival and Competition (Busan, Korea, October 2016). He has also conducted the BCFC Festival Youth Chorale during the event. His advanced college choir, the Dana Chorale, has toured Korea successfully for twelve days during May 2017, enjoying enthusiastic applauses from Korean audiences in six cities. His upcoming international engagements include guest conducting the Noel Chorus of Korea in June 2018 and lecture presentation at the Podium 2018 (Canada’s biennial national choral conference and festival) in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

http://warrencivicchorus.com/index.htm

EDUCATION

D.M.A., Choral Conducting and Literature, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004
M.M., Choral Conducting, Westminster Choir College, 1995
B.M., Voice Performance, Seoul National University, 1989

Bio

Dr. Hae-Jong Lee, a native of South Korea, has directed a wide range of choral ensembles, including church, middle and high school, honor, college, community, and professional choirs in both Korea and the United States. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Seoul National University, his Master of Music degree from Westminster Choir College, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting and literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Before moving to the U.S., Dr. Lee conducted the Pusan National University Chorus, the Logos Mission Choir in Seoul, and various church choirs. He was also a founding member and manager of the Seoul Motet Choir, a professional ensemble. While at the University of Illinois, he directed the University Chorus and served as Chorus Master for the University Opera Company. During his time in Princeton, he toured internationally with the renowned Westminster Choir, performing in Taiwan, Korea, France (Colmar International Festival), and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. As a vocalist he performed with major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Luke Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of world-renowned conductors such as Kurt Masur, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Zdeněk Mácal, Helmuth Rilling, Joseph Flummerfelt, and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Since joining Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music in 2002 as Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Lee has directed choral ensembles, taught undergraduate and graduate choral conducting courses, and mentored graduate conducting students. His Dana Chorale has performed at numerous regional conferences, including both Ohio and Pennsylvania Music Education Association honors choral events, and has toured extensively in Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and South Korea (2017). The Dana Chorale's virtual performance with the Busan Teacher's Chorus was featured in the Busan International Choral Festival (2020), and the ensemble has also performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Additionally, he has led the Dana Vocal Performance Clinic Summer Choir for over a decade and regularly visits high school chamber choirs in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Dr. Lee is deeply committed to community engagement through choral music. He served as Chorus Master for Opera Western Reserve (2005–2015) and has been the Artistic Director of the Stambaugh Chorus since 2009, where he founded and leads the annual peace concert, "Giving Voice to Peace." Since 2019, he has also served as Director of Music at Canfield Presbyterian Church. His choral music reviews have appeared in Choral Journal,and he has contributed articles to the Ohio Choral Directors Association (OCDA) publication, where he also served on the board.

His choral conducting mentors include Drs. Joseph Flummerfelt, James Jordan, Andrew Megill, Fred Stoltzfus, and Don Moses, and his orchestral conducting teachers are Mrs. Donald Schleiger and Bong-Heun Yoo. Passionate about both choral and choral-orchestral works, he has conducted Handel’s Messiah and Utrecht Te Deum, Fauré’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 ("Ode to Joy"), Rutter’s Gloria, Requiem, and Magnificat, Poulenc’s Gloria, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Jenkins’ Gloria and The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, Mozart’s Requiem, and many more. As Director of the Warren Civic Chorus and Chamber Orchestra, he conducts an annual performance of Handel’s Messiah. Dr. Lee remains an active guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator at choral festivals and conferences in the U.S. and Korea. His international engagements include guest conducting the Busan City Chorus, the Noel Chorus and Chamber Orchestra, and the Seoul Motet Choir, as well as leading masterclasses at choral festivals in Korea. He has also been a clinician and moderator at OCDA, OMEA, PMEA, and West Virginia ACDA conferences. Notable past engagements include lecturing at the 10th World Symposium on Choral Music in Seoul (2014), serving as an international juror for the Busan Choral Festival and Competition (2016), conducting the BCFC Festival Youth Chorale, presenting at Podium 2018 (Canada’s national choral conference and festival), and guest conducting a festival chorus and orchestra at Carnegie Hall (2022).

Through his work as a conductor, educator, and advocate for choral music, Dr. Lee continues to foster musical excellence and build meaningful connections within the global choral community.

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