Chris Lee

Chris Lee

Chris Lee

Columbia, SC

Chris Lee

Columbia, SC

Country:   United States Category:   MARCHING ARTISTS

Overview

Dr. Christopher D. Lee (BM University of Maryland, MM, and DMA University of South Carolina) is currently the Director of Bands at Dreher High School. Dr. Lee conducts the Dreher Symphonic and Concert Bands, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, Woodwind Ensembles and is the founder of the Dreher Steel Bands. His teaching credits include the University of South Carolina, Lander University, Claflin University, Cadets of Bergen County Drum and Bugle Corps, Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps, Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, Thom Hannum's Mobile Percussion Seminars and he started steel bands at Logan Elementary School, Eau Claire High School, Satchel Ford Elementary School and AC Moore Elementary School. 

 

Dr. Lee has attended Wind Conducting Masterclasses at the University of Georgia, Columbus State and the University of Kentucky where he studied with Craig Kirchhoff and Cody Birdwell. Along with extensive teaching experience, Dr. Lee is the principal percussionist of the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, an active solo steel drum performer, co-founder/lead steel pan player, and manager of the Island Close By Steel Band.

 

As a concert percussionist/drummer, he has performed with the Charleston, Hilton Head, Savannah, Augusta, Charlotte, Long Bay, Florence, Aiken, Greenville and Atlanta Symphonies as well as Roger Williams, Roger Pemberton, Dick Goodwin, Bert Ligon, The Moody Blues, Ray Charles, The Association, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Shirley Jones, The Diamonds, Indigo Soul, and the Garfield Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. His Broadway Show credits include: Wicked National Tour in Columbia, SC, Camelot at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Alabama, plus Columbia, SC Theatre productions of A. My Name Is Alice, A Chorus Line, West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar, Oliver, La Cage Aux Folles, Falsettos, Kiss of the Spider-Woman, Tommy, Chicago, The Life, Guys and Dolls, Heathers among others.

 

Chris's love for the music of many cultures has inspired him to study Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian, Reggae and Second Line drum set in New York, steel drums/engine room in Trinidad, congas/timbales in Puerto Rico and djembe/dundun/balafon in Guinea, West Africa. An active clinician/performer for the Pearl Corporation, Avedis Zildjian Co., Innovative Percussion, Evans Drum Heads, the South Carolina Arts Commission and the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, he conducts summer workshops, clinics/masterclasses, and school residencies throughout the Southeastern United States. Dr. Lee's affiliations include NAFME, SC Band Directors Association, and Sigma Alpha Iota.