Sanghie Lee, DMA

Dr. Sanghie Lee is an internationally accomplished pianist. She won the bronze winner of NTD International Piano Competition in 2019. She also has won first prizes in many other competitions, including the Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition in 2015, where she also won a special award for Best Interpretation of an American Composer’s Work. She won second prize at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition in 2014 performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No.1. She has been invited to the Alaska e-Piano Competition and Beethoven International Piano Competition in Bonn, Germany. She also won numerous first prizes at major competitions in Korea such as the Beethoven Piano Competition of Korea, Haneum Piano Competition, and Korea Piano Duo Association Competition.

As a featured soloist, she has performed Liszt Piano concerto No.1 with University of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Mozart Piano Concerto No.17 with University of North Georgia Sinfonietta, and Beethoven Piano Concerto No.3 with Yonsei University Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Lee has been invited to perform at music festivals and recitals in Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu in Korea, and Cincinnati, Kalamazoo, Bloomington, New York in the United States, including the Young Artist Musician’s Festival by Eumyoun, New Rising Star Debut Recital, and Young Artist Piano Recital. She recently performed at Carnegie Hall with her piano duo. As a guest artist, she regularly gives recital tours. One of her performances was hailed as “breathtaking, her playing combined both technical and musical mastery of the highest level. Brilliant performance!”.

In her role at UNG, she has performed annually at the “A Little Night Hawk Music Series”. Each year featured different themes such as "In Joy and Sorrow", "Fall in Love with 20th Century Piano Works", and "Between Calmness and Passion in 19th Century Piano Works". The pieces she performed required a high level of technique and musical artistry and have become audience favorites.

An active chamber musician, she has performed in numerous concerts and collaborative performances. She is the leader of piano trio Canorus based in Cincinnati, Ohio, which has won several chamber competitions including second prize at the 2017 OSTA (Ohio String Teachers Association) Chamber Music Competition; the trio has also won first prize at the 2016 CCM Chamber Music Competition and second prize in 2015. With other chamber groups, she has performed over 50 chamber recitals since 2013. At the Korea Piano Duo Association Competition in Seoul, she won the Grand Prize for her piano duo recital performance.

Dr. Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea and started playing the piano at the age of five. A musical prodigy, she won the first prize in competition at age eight and went on to attend Yewon School & Seoul Arts High School. She studied with Prof. Shin at Yonsei University, receiving scholarships and earning both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music. Moving to the United States for further studies, she first earned her Performer Diploma at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University, under Prof. Emile Naoumoff. She then went to the College-Conservatory of Music of University of Cincinnati and earned her DMA and Artist Diploma under the guidance of Prof. James Tocco, Eugene Pridonoff, and Elisabeth Pridonoff with full scholarship. Her doctoral dissertation is “Rachmaninoff's Early Piano works and the Traces of Chopin's Influence: The Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op.3 & The Moments Musicaux, Op.16”.

She currently serves as a part-time piano faculty and collaborative pianist at UNG. Since her appointment, she has been teaching music courses including Applied lesson, Class piano, Aural Skill I, Collaborative piano class, Music Theory I, and Keyboard musicianship. Her extensive repertoire list and performance have positively influenced music students' progress at UNG. Her students have made achievement winning competitions and going on to graduate schools with scholarships.

Throughout her career, she has successfully taught students of all levels and ages, who have achieved great results. She also enjoys chamber coaching, and recently her students won the first prize at the Franklin Pond chamber music competition in 2023. In Korea, many of her students won prizes in competitions and went on to pursue programs in piano performance in highly-ranked schools.

She has also actively participated in community concerts in the Atlanta area and regularly performs for local audiences. She believes that community engagement through music is valuable in every aspect.