Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated conductor, pianist, singer, producer and non-profit leader, Josephine Lee has made a widespread impact in the fields of music and education through engagements across the globe — and unites 3,000+ young voices in Chicago every year.
An original composition for piano — on the intense relationships, good and bad, we carry through life, and the joy of knowing those memories are never forgotten.
Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated conductor, pianist, singer, producer and non-profit leader Josephine Lee has made a widespread impact in the fields of music and education through an array of engagements across the globe. She currently serves as President of Uniting Voices (formerly Chicago Children’s Choir), a nonprofit organization that empowers and unites 3,000+ diverse youth annually to find their voice and celebrate their common humanity through the power of music. Through her vision, Ms. Lee has doubled the number of students served, tripled the organization’s budget and established Uniting Voices Chicago as one of the city’s premier civic and cultural institutions, creating a performance-based learning experience built around innovative creative partnerships. Lee led Uniting Voices Chicago singers in performances of Carmina Burana with Choral Arts Society at the Kennedy Center; recordings of James Lee III’s Pitch In with Pacifica Quartet and Stacy Garrop’s Terra Nostra with classical label Cedille Records; with Colombian pop superstar Karol G on Saturday Night Live and at Lollapalooza; with Peter CottonTale on the viral work Together in Google’s Year in Search video and on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert; the PBS Great Performances national broadcast of Bernstein’s Mass with Ravinia Festival; with Bobby McFerrin & The SpiritYouAll Band at Ravinia Festival; recordings of Chance the Rapper’s debut studio album The Big Day and Grammy Award-winning Coloring Book; the world premiere of a hip hop version of Homer’s Odyssey, Long Way Home; and the original world musical Sita Ram with Lookingglass Theatre. Uniting Voices recently released Ms. Lee’s groundbreaking composition Multiverse across all streaming platforms. For over two decades, she has prepared Uniting Voices Chicago ensembles to serve as the youth ensemble for Lyric Opera of Chicago and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among other cultural cornerstones. Ms. Lee uses music as a tool for cultural diplomacy: Uniting Voices was the first non-Korean civilian group granted permission to enter the Yeolsei Observation Platform in the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
As an independent artist, Lee delivered a “sensuous and bluesy” performance (The New York Times) in Pulitzer Prize finalist Ted Hearne’s Place at its Brooklyn Academy of Music world premiere, as well as performances with the LA Philharmonic and Festival Musica in Strasbourg. As a composer, she was commissioned for a suite for piano and cello, Ascension, and a piece for piano, The Good Goodbyes. Ms. Lee has conducted the National Philharmonic at Strathmore with Grammy Award-winning artist Lisa Fischer and her band Grand Baton, Choral Arts Symphonic Chorus and Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Chicago Sinfonietta, Oregon Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra, Sphinx Virtuosi, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Portland Youth Symphony Orchestra. In recognition of her leadership, Ms. Lee received the Kennedy Center’s National Committee for the Performing Arts Award for Arts Advocacy, the Roman Nomitch Fellowship to attend the Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program, the Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal from the University of Chicago, the 3Arts Artist Award from MacArthur Foundation, and other esteemed awards.
This work was commissioned by Frank Chaves and the River North Dance Company of Chicago. The Good Goodbyes represent the intense relationships — good and bad — we experience throughout our journey of life with others, and the joy of knowing that those memories will never be forgotten. Perhaps one day we’ll reunite? or maybe never — but the feelings we shared will always be there. After losing both my parents at a young age and spending very finite periods of time with great artists from all over the globe, I’ve learned to appreciate the opportunity we have to create and collaborate with each other. The beauty of life, friendship, family and above all, the power of love to unite and experience the world through this medium is transformational. Let’s continue healing together and put more good and beauty back into the world.
By Lola Kramer — May 3, 2024. Welcome to Wet Paint in the Wild, the freewheeling — and free! — spinoff of Artnet News Pro’s beloved Wet Paint gossip column, where we give art-world insiders a disposable camera to chronicle their lives on the circuit. Read more on Artnet (https://news.artnet.com/art-world/wet-paint-lola-kramer-chicago-renaissance-society-2480290)
Please get in touch with press, licensing and booking inquiries. jo@josephinelee.com (mailto:jo@josephinelee.com)