JIHYE LEE ORCHESTRA

Jihye Lee, a Brooklyn-based composer, bandleader, and conductor, discovered her passion for jazz orchestra at Berklee College of Music in 2011 despite having no prior jazz or classical training. Instead of this being a hindrance, she quickly excelled, subverting expectations and earning the coveted Duke Ellington Prize within a matter of months of declaring her Jazz Composition major. Lee’s innate musical talent is a testament to her unique composing journey that led her to be exceptionally original and her ability to immerse herself in her artistry. Not afraid of vulnerability, Lee's compositions stem from a deeply personal place, evident in her critically acclaimed albums Daring Mind (2021) and April (2017). Lee's upcoming work, Infinite Connections, blends Western music with traditional Korean rhythms, exploring themes of grief, the cycle of nature, ancestral ties, and womanhood. Lee's innovative storytelling approach to composing, hailed as "imaginative and creative" by her longtime mentor Jim McNeely, has been recognized by the New York Times, The Guardian, BMI, the Korean Music Awards, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, hr Big Band, various universities, and many more, cementing her status as a trailblazer in contemporary jazz and beyond.