Tereza Lee – Musical Life Competition Juror (piano)

Tereza Lee, D.M.A., is a pianist “whose touch is exceptionally clear” (Chicago Sun-Times).

Tereza Lee has taught at the Manhattan School of Music since 2011, at the College Undergraduate and Graduate levels (2011-18) and in the Precollege division (2018-current). As a performer, she has appeared as a soloist at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Barge Music, Lincoln Center, and the Ravinia Festival in Chicago. She has premiered works by Aaron Jay Kernis, Augusta Read Thomas, Ned Rorem, Josephine Lee, and Kenneth Frazelle. At 16, she became the first student from an inner-city school to win first prize in the CSO Youth Concerto Competition, and performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Tereza Lee’s role in helping to inspire Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois to introduce the DREAM Act has been documented in WQXR, The New York Times, PBS, NPR, USA Today, The Economist, NY1, and WNYC. Tereza Lee’s story was recently featured in the PBS documentary Asian Americans, as well as the children’s book 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World (Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls).

Tereza Lee’s former teachers include Edna Koren, Adam Smyla, Dr. Sylvia Wang, Mme. Nina Svetlanova, and Dr. Marc Silverman. Tereza Lee received her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 2020.