Won Lee newly appointed as Flute Instructor of The University of Texas at Dallas

Won Lee is a tall, built man with kind, black eyes. When he walks into the room, he brings this wholehearted, agreeable demeanor that likens to the self-assured warmth of an old family friend. A student might stumble playing a passage and he would easily laugh it off with a benevolent and hearty chuckle. Moreover, Lee displays a remarkably humble quality about him, an inscrutably reserved kind that one would find maddeningly intriguing. 

The story of how Lee came to be the Flute Instructor at The University of Texas at Dallas is not usual. UT Dallas, after all, was never meant to be a music school. When it was founded exactly fifty years ago, the founders Eugene McDermott, Cecil Howard Green and J. Erik Jonsson imagined UT Dallas to be a STEM-rich university, filled with tech-savvy programmers and engineers. Most students today, fulfilling that vision, major in Computer Science, Biology, and Mechanical Engineering. The rest of the students usually either belong to the well-known Naveen Jindal School of Management or to the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication. Less than two percent of the total undergraduate students opt for a Bachelor of Arts in the Visual and Performing Arts with a Concentration in Music - this is UT Dallas' closest equivalent to a music-related degree.

However, the student profile is changing. UT Dallas is beginning to boast its own fleet of strong, competitive musicians. More students are arriving with strong aptitudes for music, some of whom are all the more passionate about the flute. This is why, in the summer of 2019, the UT Dallas School of Arts & Humanities ended up scouring the area for a flute teacher. A couple of impasses later, the faculty reached out to the UT Arlington Senior Lecturer Dr. Terri Sanchez, who in turn directed the music department to the perfect one for the job: Won Lee.

Won Lee is known for prevailing over numerous solo flute competitions around the nation. His tone, beautiful and sonorous, is one of the purest that you will ever hear; his technique cradles breathtaking flexibility between all registers. This year alone, he won the 3rd Prize in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition and 1st Prize in the National Flute Association Orchestral and Masterclass Competition. Before that, he won the Mid-South Flute Society Young Artist Competition, the Texas Flute Society Myrna Brown Young Artist Competition, the Chicago Flute Club Solo Artist Competition, and the Seattle Young Artist Competition, among others. He was even once personally invited to the Kobe International Flute Competition, a prestigious competition held every four years in Kobe, Japan for flutists around the world. 

Won Lee, in other words, is extraordinary at the flute and is, likewise, tremendously passionate about playing the instrument. 

At a young age, Lee fell in love when he listened to recordings of flutists James Galway and Emmanuel Pahud. He "loved the singing quality in the instrument... soaring on the high register and rich on the low register." Dividing his time into mornings, afternoons, and evenings, Lee would practice up to three hours a day. Playing in chamber ensembles, bands, and orchestras only deepened his love for the flute. He was unstoppable.

After high school, Lee’s passion propelled him all over the country to study with some of the nation’s best. He achieved his bachelor’s at the University of Texas at Austin with Marianne Gedigian and then completed his master’s degree Peabody Institute of Music with international soloist Marina Piccinini. He also pursued his Professional Studies Diploma at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Timothy Day, Principal Flutist of the San Francisco Symphony. Now, he is completing his Doctoral of Musical Arts at the University of North Texas under Terri Sunberg. Regarding his teachers, Lee holds massive awe for Monica Song, Marianne Gedigian, Marina Piccinini, Timothy Day, Professor Terri Sundberg, and Dr. James Scott. When he speaks of them, his eyes glow in wonder.

"They are my heroes," he reinstates adoringly.

Won Lee also appears in professional orchestras and holds a stellar teaching record. He regularly substitutes with Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, Dallas Wind Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. His students have been accepted into New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Oberlin College, the Peabody Institute of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the University of Texas at Austin, to name a few.

As someone who is inspired by beautiful things, Lee is the type of person who will stop in the middle of a road to enjoy the sun or smell the flowers. He sagely explains, "beautiful performances, beautiful hearts, beautiful lives... A power that influences a person from their experience." Without a doubt, Lee is a man with an incredible heart. It is his altruism towards others and his monstrous passion for the flute that lead him anywhere he wishes.

Overseeing Lee's teaching position at UT Dallas is Professor Mary Medrick, the Director of Music at UT Dallas' School of Arts & Humanities. She was the main one who was behind hiring Won Lee. An ambitious woman with seemingly abundant connections, Prof. Medrick is working assiduously to build the music program at UT Dallas. Her office is dense with dusty sheet music and coffee-stained textbooks, constantly busy with students cycling through for requests and piano lessons.

She states, "UTD's strong music program is a surprise to potential students and, with instructors like Won Lee joining our faculty, I'm sure that we will see more students pursuing the Music Concentration or Minor!"

For the self-motivated musician and STEM major, UT Dallas is a dream come true. Any serious flutist should earnestly consider applying to this amazing university; the potential to tackle a STEM major and study the flute under Won Lee - especially under the school's copious scholarships - is a once in a lifetime opportunity. For more information on how to apply, visit www.utdallas.edu/admissions.