For the 2019-20 season, Ms. Lee was appointed principal cellist of The Curtis Symphony Orchestra, ending the season with the United States Tour this past February. During her time at Curtis, she worked under many renowned conductors, including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Osmo Vänskä, Michael Stern, Juanjo Mena, and Giancarlo Guerrero. As a chamber musician, Ms. Lee has collaborated with several eminent chamber musicians, including Arnold Steinhardt, Peter Wiley, and Roberto Diaz. As part of the Curtis on Tour initiative, Ms. Lee performed in many cities across Asia, United States, and Europe. Sydney Lee has performed nationally and internationally in venues such as Verizon Hall in Kimmel Center, Palladium Center for the Performing Arts, Heinz Hall, Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, Euphrasian Basilica, Shanghai Concert Hall, and Konzerthaus Berlin.

Most recently, Ms. Lee was selected as an active participant in the Cello Akademie Rutesheim and was selected by the New York Classical Music Society Recital Series Audition for a solo engagement this upcoming season. Ms. Lee was a 2018 active participant of the Kronberg Academy cello masterclasses as well as a Scholar at the Internationale Musikakademie Liechtenstein (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020). A National YoungArts finalist, Ms. Lee was named a 2015 US Presidential Scholar in the Arts by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. She was also the recipient of the 2015 Korean Honors Scholarship, which was awarded by the South Korean Embassy in Washington D.C.

Ms. Lee finds passion in using her art as a platform for arts education. She currently serves as a Board of Director and Director of Global Operations at The Back to Bach Project Charitable Foundation LTD, a global initiative to inspire music and arts education to young children and teach them the value of hard work and passion. She was a founding member since its inception in 2014 and served as Regional Director of the Philadelphia chapter for two years. As part of the Community Artist Project at Curtis, Ms. Lee created a three-way collaboration between Play on Philly, The Curtis Institute of Music, and The Back to Bach Project. Most recently, on behalf of The Back to Bach Project, Ms. Lee was selected as a 2020 grantee from the U.S. Presidential Scholars Foundation and Alumni Association Seed Grant Program. Ms. Lee is also the Artistic Director of the Heartstrings Cello Ensemble, dedicated to raising awareness and recognizing the incredible charitable work of individuals and organizations.

ydney Lee will be interning with the Academy of Presidential Scholars during the summer of 2020. Born in New York, NY, Sydney Lee began her studies with her mother, Soo Lee, at the age of six. Since then, her playing has been influenced by studies with Sophie Shao, Minhye Clara Kim, Julie Albers, Richard Aaron, Peter Wiley and Carter Brey, and the mentorship of American cellist Lynn Harrell. The Emily W. Sunstein Annual Fellow, Ms. Lee is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music. As the recipient of the Eckstein Scholarship and Dick and Helen Thomas Fellowship, she is pursuing her Master’s Degree at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University with Hans Jørgen Jensen.