Mihae Lee is an American pianist of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n birth. Born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, Lee won the Korean National Music Competition which led to her professional solo debut at the age of fourteen with the Korean National Orchestra. In 1976, she moved to the United States to study at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

on a scholarship to their pre-college program. She went on to further studies at Juilliard under Martin Canin, earning both a bachelor's and master's degrees in piano performance. She also holds an Artist Diploma from the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

where she studied with

Russell Sherman Russell Sherman (born March 25, 1930, New York, New York) is an American classical pianist, educator and author. Russell Sherman made his debut at The Town Hall in New York at age 15, later studying piano with Eduard Steuermann and composition wit ...

. While studying at Juilliard, Lee won awards including the Juilliard Concerto Competition and First Prize at the Kosciuszko Foundation

Chopin Competition The International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina), often referred to as the Chopin Competition, is a piano competition held in Warsaw, Poland. It was initiated in 1927 and has been held ev ...

. She has since gone on to have an active international career both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. She has performed as a soloist with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra in addition to guest appearances with orchestras in the United States,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. She also has given recitals at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, Jordan Hall,

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

and other venues. Lee is perhaps best known for her work as a chamber musician. She has been a member of the

Boston Chamber Music Society The Boston Chamber Music Society (BCMS) is an American organization of musicians located in Boston, Massachusetts and dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music. The organization performs works from the Baroque era to the present da ...

since 1987 and founded the Triton Horn Trio along with violinist

Ani Kavafian Ani Kavafian ( hy, Անի Գավաֆեան, born May 10, 1948, Istanbul) is a classical violinist and professor at the Yale School of Music. Early life and education Born in Istanbul of Armenian heritage, Ani Kavafian began piano lessons at t ...

and her current husband French hornist William Purvis. Lee was previously married to cellist Ronald Thomas with whom she has a daughter, Lili.

Sources

Artist's biography
Bridge Records American classical pianists American women classical pianists South Korean classical pianists South Korean women pianists People from Seoul Living people 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists Year of birth missing (living people) {{SouthKorea-musician-stub