Dr. Joanna Lee has performed throughout Korea, Japan, China, Europe, and the United States in significant venues such as the KKL in Luzern, the JT Art Hall in Tokyo, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
She has been a soloist with the Suwon Symphony and has been invited to prestigious festivals including the Verbier Festival, La Jolla Music Society, Kuhmo Festival, and the Mozarteum Summer Academy. A prizewinner of numerous competitions, Dr. Lee holds first prizes from the Padova International Competition, Korea Times Competition, Utah Chamber Music Competition, and the Beverly Hills Consortium. She has also received multiple scholarships, including the Colburn Foundation Scholarship and the Fritz-Gerber Scholarship.
Born into a musical family, Dr. Lee began playing the violin at the age of six. She attended the University of Music in Basel, Switzerland, and the University of Vienna, where she completed her studies with distinction under the guidance of Adelina Oprean and Dora Schwarzberg. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles (Phi Kappa Lambda), where she studied under the tutelage of Margaret Batjer on a full scholarship. Her areas of concentration included sacred music, jazz, and baroque violin.
As a devoted chamber and orchestral musician, Dr. Lee is active both in the greater Los Angeles area and internationally. She is a founding member of the Los Angeles Ensemble, which won first prize at the International Music Competition Grand Prize Virtuoso in London and fourth prize at the Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China. Dr. Lee has also served as the principal second violinist for the Redlands Symphony and as an acting section violinist with the San Diego Symphony. She is currently a member of the Pacific Symphony.
A dedicated educator, Dr. Lee was a Visiting Lecturer at Scripps College and is presently on the faculty at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts.