Major winner 2009
GERALD LEE is Professor of Piano at West Liberty University (West Liberty, West Virginia), where he has been a full-time faculty member since 2002. He won the 2007-08 Excellence in Professional Activity Award at WLU. He earned three piano performance degrees: Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University, Indiana University, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, respectively.
Dr. Lee was a winner in the 2009 Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Concert Society Major Artist Auditions. In addition, he won 1st place in the 2002 National Society of Arts and Letters Piano Competition (Lansing, Michigan), 2nd place in the 2002 National Finals of the MTNA (Music Teachers’ National Association) Collegiate Artists’ Piano Competition (Cincinnati, Ohio), and 3rd place in the 2003 International Beethoven Piano Sonata Competition (Memphis, Tennessee).
He enjoys maintaining an extensive schedule of solo and chamber music performances, the latter including recitals with such artistic luminaries as Faith Esham, soprano, John Rommel, trumpet, Jeremy Black, violin, and Erina Laraby-Goldwasser, viola. Solo recitals have been performed throughout the U.S. on numerous concert series, at colleges and universities, and for chamber music societies. His 2010 solo recital for the Charleston (West Virginia) Chamber Music Society was lauded by the Charleston Daily Mail as an “overwhelming musical success…Gerald Lee upheld the Charleston Chamber Music Society’s reputation for bringing top-rated artists to their Christ Church United Methodist venue.”
He is dedicated to and passionate about piano teaching. Dr. Lee has presented numerous master classes at venues such as Mercyhurst University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Mary Baldwin College, Duquesne University, Mansfield University, Marshall University, Fairmont State University, and Shepherd University among others. He is pleased and proud of his students’ accomplishments, which include 1st place awards in the 2013, 2014, and 2015 West Virginia Music Teachers’ Association’s Mountain State Collegiate Piano Competition.
Dr. Lee is the recipient of the 2017 WVMTA (West Virginia Music Teachers' Association) Distinguished Leader of the Year Award. He currently serves WVMTA as 2nd Vice President, and during 2013-15, he served as Chair of Competitions.
He is a frequent adjudicator for piano competitions, such as those held by MTNA at both the state and division levels. Passionate about the works of Alexander Scriabin, he has presented lecture- recitals featuring Scriabin’s piano sonatas at numerous College Music Society conferences, including the 2014 National Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. He is forever grateful to the following artist-teachers for their unconditional support, vast wisdom, and artistic guidance: Virginia Sandford, the late Lawrence Campbell, Andrew Cooperstock, Reiko Neriki, Logan Skelton, Arthur Greene, and the late Distinguished Professor György Sebök.
