Boston Symphony Orchestra Appoints Earl Lee As New Assistant Conductor

The Boston Symphony Orchestra has appointed Korean-Canadian conductor Earl Lee as the orchestra's new assistant conductor for a two-year term beginning with the 2021-22 season.

He will join the Boston Symphony Orchestra for his first podium appearance as assistant conductor during the 2022 Tanglewood season, followed by subscription concerts at Symphony Hall during the 2022-23 season. He succeeds former Assistant Conductor Yu-An Chang whose term with the BSO ended in 2020. Mr. Lee will be one of two assistant conductors; he joins Anna Rakitina whose tenure continues through 2023.

In addition to leading his own performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Earl Lee will assist BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons and guest conductors in their work preparing the orchestra for performances at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood and on tours, nationally and internationally, as well as for their annual appearances at Carnegie Hall.

Earl Lee is completing his tenure this month with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he has held the position of associate conductor since September 2018. Previously resident conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 2015 to 2018, Mr. Lee has performed for audiences worldwide as both a conductor and accomplished cellist. His conducting engagements have included appearances with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, New Japan Philharmonic, Gangnam Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.

In all of his professional activities, Mr. Lee seeks ways to connect with fellow musicians and audiences on a personal level. His concerts to date have often been accompanied by outreach events beyond the concert hall in the community at large. He has taken great pleasure in mentoring young musicians as former artistic director and conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, and as music director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra.

"I feel very lucky to become a part of such an exceptional musical ensemble as the BSO," said Earl Lee. "I am honored and look forward to beginning work with the amazing Maestro Andris Nelsons and all the terrific musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra."

"All of us at the BSO are thrilled to welcome Earl Lee as our new assistant conductor," said Anthony Fogg, William I. Bernell Artistic Administrator and Director of Tanglewood. "Earl's impressive background as both conductor and cellist is matched by his commitment and dedication to connecting with fellow musicians and audiences beyond the concert hall. We look forward to his first concerts with the orchestra next summer at Tanglewood and introducing him to Symphony Hall audiences in 2022-23. I'm sure Earl will be a wonderful addition to the BSO family."

For more information about the BSO, please visit www.bso.org.

Mr. Lee received the 2021 Solti Foundation U.S Career Assistance Award and, in 2018, the 50th Anniversary Heinz Unger Award from the Ontario Arts Council. In 2013, he was one of two recipients of the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Scholarship, chosen by renowned conductor Kurt Masur to study Mendelssohn's music and life in Leipzig. That same year, Lee was awarded the Ansbacher Fellowship by the American Austrian Foundation and members of the Vienna Philharmonic and spent six weeks at the Salzburg Festival in Austria.

As an accomplished cellist, Mr. Lee toured with the acclaimed duo of Gary Burton and Chick Corea as a guest member of the Harlem String Quartet in 2012, performing in notable venues including Boston's Symphony Hall, Maison symphonique de Montréal, and the Blue Note jazz club in New York City. He has also toured the United States with a variety of ensembles, including Musicians from Marlboro, and is currently a member of the conductorless East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO). For further information about Earl Lee, visit www.earlleeconductor.com.

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