Brian Lee ’24 is a current senior and a valuable member of the music community at Belmont Hill. His musical career started at the age of 7, when he chose the instrument that he would play for the rest of his life: the cello. Brian would stick with the cello for 11 years, and grow to build a passion for performing heartfelt music to wider audiences over the years.
Brian currently performs with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra as the associate principal cellist; he has made two international tours with the orchestra, including a 6-city tour of Greece in Athens, Thessaloniki, and more, and a 7-city tour of South Africa including Johannesburg and Cape Elizabeth. The orchestra also provides three seasonal concerts at Symphony Hall yearly, completing performances with acclaimed professional soloists on a global scale. Brian has also performed alongside prominent soloists such as cellist Zlatomir Fung, soprano Sofia Fomina, and pianist Anna Fedorova with the orchestra; performed pieces included Schumann Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129, Dvořák Rusalka Op. 114, and Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23. Brian has stated that one of the highlights of each BPYO concert is the support he receives from members of the Belmont Hill community, with personal teachers and coaches from his classes and sports teams consistently coming to concerts and showing their support. He also wants to thank Head of School Mr. Schneider for coming to watch numerous concerts as well as solo performances in competitions.
At Belmont Hill, Brian loves the community aspect of performing in the Symphonic Orchestra, including providing performances for school audiences in Performance Chapels, coffee houses, and seasonal concerts. He has stated that he immensely enjoyed being able to take on a leadership role in the orchestra and help younger players improve and better enjoy playing repertoire such as the Centennial Celebration Song earlier this year. Adrian Tan ‘25 stated, “Brian has been a great leader throughout several years for the orchestra. I always admired his outside accomplishments in cello performances, but it was also inspiring to see his passion for increasing the orchestra’s musical influence in the schoolwide community, as well as helping younger students refine their craft and learn to step up as leaders in the musical area at school.” Wesley Zhu ‘25 also added, “It’s been a great time to be able to perform alongside Brian throughout my time at Belmont Hill. He always had good leadership and led the orchestra through many difficulties, and it was an awesome experience to be able to serve alongside him as Vice President this year, ending another successful season this year.”
One of his favorite musical experiences at Belmont Hill included being able to showcase the orchestra’s efforts throughout the year to the school in Chapels and concerts. Brian also wishes to thank Mr. Fiori, Mr. Patterson, and Ms. Allen for their work in helping boost the Belmont Hill musical program to further success and influence the schoolwide community; he hopes the program will continue to expand and reach wider audiences. In the outer sphere beyond school performances, Brian made his performing debut as an orchestra soloist with the Wellesley Symphony after winning the prestigious 2022 Michael H. Welles Young Soloist competition. Brian has also won first prize at the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association Bay State String Contest, the 5th Roman Totenberg Young Strings Competition, the American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music, and the Grand Prize of the Vision Competition.
Additionally, one of Brian’s proudest accomplishments included being one of the five winners of the Fidelity Investments Young Artists Competition last year, receiving the opportunity to perform on stage with Keith Lockhart, the conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra as well as other Pops players in front of a sold-out audience at Symphony Hall. Keith Lockhart has conducted more than 1,900 Pops concerts, making him one of the most experienced conductors in the world; with Lockhart, Brian performed Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107, mvt. I by Dmitri Shostakovich, and also performed with the alternative rock band Guster as an encore performance. In a live-air interview with the WBZ channel after his play-through, Brian stated, “It’s an incredible feeling to share something that I’m so passionate about with my friends, family, and everyone in the audience.” He also added, “I’ll cherish all the great memories I made during the rehearsals, master classes, and of course the final performance for the rest of my life; I’m extremely grateful that I was able to have such an opportunity, and I would really encourage all local musicians to give it a shot as well.”
Some of Brian’s highlights in his musical career consist of masterclasses and interpretational workshops led by BPYO’s conductor Benjamin Zander; he has listed Maestro Zander as one of the most prominent mentors in his life and a main source of wisdom, tutelage, and lessons in passion and empathy. In an interview with Maestro Zander himself, when asked about the impact of an orchestra like BPYO on himself, Brian stated, “Thinking back now, a word like ‘fulfillment’ perfectly describes what I felt during my first rehearsal with the BPYO. Fulfilled that I wasn’t playing the cello to outcompete others, but to generate genuine music for pure enjoyment. Fulfilled that we weren’t playing music just to play music, but to make an impact on others and find the reason why we play music.”
The Panel along with the whole Belmont Hill community wishes Brian all the best in his musical endeavors in the future, in college, and beyond, and thanks him for all of his valuable music contributions to the Belmont Hill community.
