The ASCAP Foundation and the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra are pleased to announce Jihye Lee as the recipient of the 6th Annual ASCAP Foundation/Symphonic Jazz Orchestra Commissioning Prize. This prize was created to honor the memory of the trailblazing musician George Duke, who was the SJO Co-Music Director and an ASCAP board member.
Jihye Lee is a New York-based jazz composer and bandleader who has written for such leading groups as Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Carnegie Hall’s NYO Jazz. She is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music and organized a successful crowdfunding campaign for her first big band album, April. Lee has performed her music in the United States and Asia at various venues and festivals and is currently working on her second release.
“This is beyond exciting, and I can’t wait to write music for the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra,” commented Lee.
The ASCAP Foundation/SJO Commissioning Prize is made possible in part by a grant from The ASCAP Foundation Louis Armstrong Fund and the SJO’s Commissioning Club. Founded in 1975, The ASCAP Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music and education, talent development and humanitarian programs.
We look forward to hearing Lee’s newly commissioned work performed at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach when we are able to gather safely again for a live, free community concert.