What’s cool about this evening:

• Earl Lee, the new Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, leads the SFCM Orchestra.
• Recent alumni Julia Pyke ’21 is featured as a flute soloist in a piece by Lowell Liebermann.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
conducted by  David Baker '23

Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961)
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, Op. 39 (1992)
Julia Pyke ’21, flute

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
     I. Andante - Allegro con anima
     II. Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza
     III. Valse. Allegro moderato
     IV. Finale. Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace

Get to Know Earl Lee

A 2021 Solti Foundation U.S Career Assistance Award recipient and a current Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Earl Lee is a renowned Korean born Canadian performer who has captivated audiences worldwide. Earl's passion for music is reflected in his diverse career as both a conductor and cellist. His recent appearances include leading the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. His guest conducting appearances include concerts with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, New Japan Philharmonic, Gangnam Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra along other orchestras worldwide.

Earl recently concluded his position as the Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra where he led various concerts and its programming. He also served as the Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 2015 to 2018.

Earl was the recipient of the 50th Anniversary Heinz Unger Award from the Ontario Arts Council in 2018. In 2013, Earl was one of two performers to receive the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Scholarship, chosen by a renowned conductor Kurt Masur to travel to Leipzig and study the music and life of Felix Mendelssohn. 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.

In all of his professional activities, Earl seeks ways to connect with fellow musicians and audiences on a personal level. His concerts to date in Canada, the U.S., China and South Korea 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.

As a cellist, Earl toured with the acclaimed duet of Gary Burton & Chick Corea as a guest member of the Harlem String Quartet in 2012, performing in notable venues including Symphony Hall in Boston, Maison symphonique de Montréal, and the iconic Blue Note jazz club in New York City. Earl has also toured the United States as part of ensembles including Musicians from Marlboro, and his performance frequently appears on air such as American Public Media’s Saint Paul Sunday. Earl has performed at prestigious summer festivals such as the Marlboro Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, Caramoor Rising Stars, and Ravinia’s Steans Institute. He is currently a member of a conductorless chamber ensemble, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO).

Earl has degrees in cello from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School. He began his conducting studies in 2010 with Ignat Solzhenitsyn, and received his Masters in 2013 from the Manhattan School of Music with George Manahan. Earl pursued postgraduate studies in conducting at the New England Conservatory with Hugh Wolff prior to his tenure with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

About the SFCM Orchestra

As a member of the SFCM Orchestra, you’ll experience firsthand the advantages of playing in a large ensemble. You’ll also get a complete overview of orchestral repertoire, and that begins with examining both masterworks and lesser-known pieces of every era. The symphony orchestra has a large repertoire, and each stylistic period deserves attention. Do you take to the classical period works of Mozart and Haydn? The grand romantic works of Brahms and Tchaikovsky? How about the 20th-century masterpieces by Aaron Copland and Benjamin Britten? Add to that more recent works by such luminaries as John Adams and Joan Tower, and collaborations with Opera Theatre, and you’re on your way to becoming the well-rounded, informed musician the performing world expects.

The SFCM Orchestra presents several performances a year that prominently feature student soloists. Participation also includes public orchestral workshops with distinguished guest conductors. Recent guests have included Donald Runnicles, Carl St. Clair, Nicola Luisotti, and Peter Oundjian.

About Julia Pyke, flute

A native of Seattle, Washington, Julia Pyke is pursuing a Performance Certificate at San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Timothy Day. She previously completed a Master of Music at SFCM, and a Bachelor of Music at Oberlin Conservatory of Music under Dr. Alexa Still. She has attended Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival, and Texas Music Festival, and has performed with the New World Symphony as well as members of the Cleveland Orchestra and in Carnegie Hall. She has performed under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, Marin Alsop, Larry Rachleff, John Adams, Hans Graf, Tim Weiss, Hugh Wolff, Markus Stenz, Andre Boreyko, and Ludovic Morlot.

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