Hae-Jong Lee

Education

• 2004 

  D.M.A., Choral Conducting and Literature
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
   

• 1995

  M.M., Choral Conducting
  Westminster Choir College
   

• 1989 

  B.M., Voice Performance
  Seoul National University

About

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.