About Joseph Lee
Originally from Torrance, CA, Joseph Lee is a violin, guitar, ukulele, and piano instructor in the Washington, D. C. area. He believes that music itself is something that has the potential to bring great joy, express the heart, and should be accessible to all who have an interest.
From playing on a pair of chopsticks at the age of three, to starting lessons at the age of six, Joseph is a classically trained musician who has soloed, played in orchestras, won competitions, and taught over his twenty-two-year career. He studied his primary instrument violin under Linda Rose (graduate of Julliard and student of Ivan Galamian and Dorothy Delay), Gail Mellert (graduate of USC's Thornton School of Music), and Almita & Roland Vamos (world renown violin instructors). In that time, he performed solo pieces such as Pablo de Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen with the Brentwood Symphony Orchestra, Torrance Symphony Orchestra, and Beach Cities Symphony Orchestra, and Camille Saint Saens' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso with the Orchestra da Camera at The Colburn School. He was a first-place winner of ASTA's (American String Teachers Association) Greater Los Angeles Area Regional Competition and placed third at the Finals.
Joseph is a Lene Fe Bland Scholar, and recipient of the Daily Breeze Newspaper's 2007 "Making a Difference Award." He completed the Music Teacher's Association of California's yearly Certificate of Merit program, culminating in a master class with Frank Almond, concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Joseph also served as Orchestra da Camera's youngest concertmaster for three seasons, and had the honor of participating in a master class with the late Emanuel Borok and Abram Shtern at the Montecito Summer Music Festival in 2008.
In addition to his violin career, he picked up the guitar and ukulele, learning to play by ear, and has been playing, gigging, recording, and leading worship for sixteen years. Most recently, before moving to the DC area, he could be found teaching "Baby Shark" to his beginning third grade guitar student and a mashup of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" with "What a Wonderful World" to his third grade ukulele student. In addition to being a strings specialist, Joseph also studies and teaches piano as a special outlet for his own creativity. For students, he feels piano study is an important foundation for theory concepts and truly a universal instrument. Whether it be someone who is intent on pursuing music as a career, or someone who wants to gain proficiency while having fun playing an instrument, Joseph loves teaching students of all levels and ages on the instruments in his repertoire.
Above all else, Joseph loves helping others find and foster a love for music and the arts through lifelong learning. From the youngest of students, it is his passion to help people discover a love and appreciation for music, as well as confidence and ownership in their skills and abilities. Outside of musical interests, Joseph enjoys snow skiing, wakeboarding, playing basketball, reading, and playing board games.
