Cellist and entrepreneur Jiyoung Lee is recognized for her evocative interpretation and emotional depth in sound, seamlessly synthesizing elite artistry with executive acumen. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Back Bay Chamber Music Society, a cultural venture where she drives the strategic vision, capital acquisition, and community-facing operations to connect classical chamber music to audiences across the Greater Boston area.
As a passionate performer, her concert experiences include solo appearances with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, New York Classical Players, and The Juilliard Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, she performed with the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston, A Far Cry, and the Borromeo Quartet. Her notable appearances include Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Star Series, First Monday at Jordan Hall, the Curtis on Tour Series, collaborating with celebrated artists such as Shmuel Ashkenasi, Roberto Diaz, Pamela Frank, Kim Kashkashian, Soovin Kim, Steven Tenenbom, and Peter Wiley. Furthermore, her festival performances have been featured at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, Music at Menlo, Music from Angel Fire, and the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, the Perlman Music Program, the Sarasota Music Festival, the Verbier Festival Academy, and the Seiji Ozawa Academy in Switzerland. Her recent engagements as an orchestral musician include the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Her multidisciplinary interest in collaborating across dance and theatrical genres led to her debut at New York City’s Fall for Dance with the Orion String Quartet and the Brooklyn Dumbo Dance Festival. She has also worked with the Ensemble for the Romantic Century at BAM Fisher, a performance featured in The New York Times and by The American Institute for Economic Research.
Ms. Lee holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, as well as a Master’s degree and an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School. Currently, she is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the New England Conservatory. Her principal teachers include Laurence Lesser, Joel Krosnick, Timothy Eddy, and Peter Wiley. She has also attended masterclasses with Ralph Kirshbaum in London, Yo-Yo Ma and Lluís Claret in Boston, and David Geringas in Interlaken.
She plays a cello made by Raphael and Antonio Gagliano in 1853.