PIANIST
Hannah-Hyunja LEE
BIOGRAPHY
Native of Seoul, Korea, pianist Hannah-Hyunja Lee has performed in Europe such as France, Germany, Switzerland, Asia, and the United States. Her repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary music, especially focusing on French Impressionism. She was called “Debussy Specialist” by Music Journal of Korea, and described as having an "enormous musical sensitivity,” “beautiful and elegant phrasing, an extraordinary power toward music,” and a “natural and delicate ear for music” by CNR de Boulogne in France.
Lee has often been featured in lecture recitals and master classes, introducing French music through recital series with French titles such as Beau Soir, L’Esprit de Printemps, Souvenirs, and Avec Plaisir, etc. Her recital, Voyage dans la Nature, in 2018 was a special collaboration with photographers as a performance of sound and vision on beautiful scenery in nature. She presented Luciano Berio’s Sequenza IV, Schubert’s unfinished Piano Sonata D.840 nicknamed “Reliquie,” and Debussy’s 12 Préludes, Deuxième Livre (Book II), and other Korean contemporary compositions as the first performance in Korea.
Hannah-Hyunja Lee studied with pianist Pascal Devoyon, a winner of Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, Paul-André Gaye, a pupil of Yvonne Loriod (Olivier Messiaen’s wife) and Claude Helffer, a contemporary music specialist in Europe. Her other musical mentors include cellist Philippe Muller and pianist Daniele Bellik in France, and flutist Pierre Wallez in Switzerland. Lee has collaborated with various great musicians, such as flutist Shigenori Kudo from Ecole Normale de Paris in France, violinist Ara Bogdanian from Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia, and flutist Andras Adorajan from Köln Hochschule für Musik in Germany. Since graduating from Seoul National University with a Bachelor’s of Music and Master’s degree in piano performance, Lee continued her studies at the Conservatoire National de Boulogne in France and collectively received three Artist Diplômes with honors for piano performance (Doctor equivalent in Le Perfectionnement with 1st prize, chosen unanimously), chamber music, and accompaniment.
Hannah-Hyunja Lee was also a prize winner in several competitions such as Val-de-Seine, Ile de France, and was invited to perform in Detmolt Hochshule für Musik in Germany, Conservatoire de Music de Geneve in Switzerland, Gallerie Fazioli in France, and Seoul National University in Korea. She served as a professor at Conservatoire de la Musique Ménestrel in France and a faculty at Seoul National University, Dankuk University, and Yewon-Seoul Art & Music School in Korea. In the United States, Lee also was a member of the music faculty at University of Richmond in Virginia and was invited as an adjudicator for Concerto Competition at colleges for several years. Lee has taught at her private studio for over twenty years and her passion for teaching has inspired her students to continue their studies in France, Germany, Austria and US.
Hannah-Hyunja Lee served as the Planning Director of Coreano- Francaise de Musiciens (Korea-France Music Association) and has been the Artistic Director of the Bijoux Chamber Ensemble since 2009. She is incredibly passionate about organizing a variety of interactive performances for the public in different states including New Jersey, Virginia and other areas along on the east and west coast. She also has worked as music director and pianist/organist at multiple churches, such as St. Matthews UMC (VA), Princeton Presbyterian Church (NJ) and so on since college up to recent years in France, Korea and US.
Hannah-Hyunja Lee's musical vision is to connect classical music and other genres of music with a diverse community through her various concert series. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California.