Album Notes

The dynamic young pianist, Yoon Ju Lee, is the winner of numerous prizes and awards in her native Korea and United States. Born in 1971 in Mokpo, she began piano study at the age of 4 and won her first Gold Medal from the Korean Music Association at the age of 8. At the age of 10, she captured First Prize in the Korean Newspapers Competition for 10 to 19 years olds, winning a grand piano, and subsequently gave the first of many televised recitals. The same year, she embarked on her first concert tour as the winner of the Little Angels Competition, sponsored by the Sunwha Company.

Yoon Ju Lee graduated with honors from the prestigious Seoul Music and Art High School in 1989, and attended Seoul National University, one of the best universities in Korea, on scholarship, attaining her B.M. in 1993. As an undergraduate, she continued to perform on broadcasts of national television and radio, and, after winning the Samick Piano Competition in 1992, was the subject of an extensive article in the Korean National Piano Magazine. In 1993 she was featured in recital in Seoul's Sejong Hall as a "New Great Pianist."

Yoon Ju Lee graduated from the University of Arizona, on full scholarship, attaining her M.M. in 1996 and D.M.A. in 2000. She studied with Professor Nicholas Zumbro, and won the first prize from the Green Valley Concert Association's Competition in 1994. The next year, she performed with the University of Arizona Symphony Orchestra as the winner of University of Arizona President's Concerto Competition. In 1995 she was the state winner of Music Teachers National Association Competition, and the semi-finalist of Grace Welsh International Competition in 1996. In 1997 she was featured in recital and interview on MBC radio in Korea, and, had a solo recital in Seoul, sponsored by Pianoforte magazine and Seoul National University, was the subject in the Korean national music magazines. In 2000 she gave a lecture-recital on her dissertation, "The Selected Operatic Paraphrases of Franz Liszt (1811-1866): Compositional Style and Performance Perspectives." The same year, she performed with Mokpo Philharmonic Orchestra, reported on KBS television in Korea. Dr. Lee was Chair of the Music Department at Myun-Shin University in Korea until the summer of 2001, when she accepted a new teaching job at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Oregon.