Catherine Lee is a Korean percussionist whose performances span solo, chamber, and orchestral settings, blending contemporary music with historically informed practices. As a passionate advocate for modern works, she actively seeks opportunities to perform compositions by living composers. This dedication has led her to notable events such as the Tune-In Music Festival, where she performed the New York premiere of *Inuksuit* by John Luther Adams at the Park Avenue Armory alongside the Grammy Award-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird and renowned percussionist Steven Schick. She has also collaborated with the Blue Shift Ensemble at the Continuum Music Festival, premiering works by the Iceberg New Music Collective. Other recent engagements include performing *Amid the Noise* with SŌ Percussion and premiering numerous works by Michigan State University composers at Cook Recital Hall in East Lansing.

As an orchestral percussionist, Lee has shared the stage with world-class artists such as Sumi Jo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Joshua Bell, under the baton of esteemed conductors Leonard Slatkin, Stéphane Denève, Bramwell Tovey, and Myung-Whun Chung. She has performed with ensembles including the Sofia Philharmonic, Adrian Symphony, Jackson Symphony, Lansing Symphony, Battle Creek Symphony, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Memphis Symphony, and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. Currently, she serves as Principal Timpanist with Sinfonietta Memphis, a period performance ensemble specializing in historically informed interpretations, and Acting Principal Percussionist with the Adrian Symphony.

Lee’s early promise as a musician was recognized when she received the Kumho Prodigy Award from the Kumho Cultural Foundation, leading to her solo recital debut at the age of fifteen. Her solo career has since included winning the Boston University Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition in 2017 and performing as a featured soloist at the 2023 Tuba Bach Festival's percussion recital alongside the Michigan State University Percussion Studio.

As an educator, Lee is dedicated to fostering the next generation of musicians. She coaches non-music majors in the Michigan State University Concert Orchestra, serves as a guest clinician for the Spartan Youth Wind Symphony, and teaches on the percussion faculty at MSU's Community Music School. As a Teaching Assistant in MSU’s Percussion Studio, she shares her enthusiasm for world music, particularly through her involvement with the African Diaspora Ensemble.

Lee holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where she studied with Robert van Sice, as well as a Master of Music degree and Performance Diploma from Boston University. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Michigan State University.