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Musician of the Month
Pat Lee, violinist
Patricia (Pat) Lee, principal second violinist in the Symphony of the
Hills, might
aptly be described as a poster child for perseverance as she has often
refused to
be discouraged by obstacles and has continued toward goals with patience
and
courage.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, the youngest of four children and the only
girl, Lee's mother was widowed before she was born. Her mother moved
the young family back to
Brooklyn, New York, where her mother's family lived. Pat's maternal
grandfather,
an apartment builder in Brooklyn, was a Russian refugee who spoke no
English, and her great-grandfather was apparently a musician and
violinist in the old country. She grew up and went to schools in
Brooklyn, New York.
Lee desired to join the choir during elementary school; however,
according to Lee, she was “not allowed to sing in the choir because the
teacher said I couldn’t carry a tune.” Another opportunity presented
itself in sixth grade when she was given the choice to play an
instrument. Lee’s first and second choices were the oboe and the
flute; instead she was handed a violin and instantly fell in love with
the instrument. In seventh grade she auditioned for the Brooklyn
Borough Youth Orchestra, and was accepted.
During the ninth and tenth grade, Lee’s mother became seriously ill, and
Lee and
one brother were sent to live with her oldest brother in Massachusetts.
Due to
the financial family constraints, Patricia (Pat) had no private lessons
but she continued to play her violin and was invited to play in the
orchestra at Philip's Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Several
professors at the school also played in the orchestra and arranged a
summer camp scholarship to send Lee to Merrywood Music School in the
Berskshires near Tanglewood. The experience of studying with a great
music faculty and attending the concerts at Tanglewood with Leonard
Bernstein conducting are life-long memories.
Unlike many professional musicians, Pat Lee did not, at an early age,
ever imagine that
she would major in music in college and devote her time and talents to
that end. Actually, she had thought seriously of majoring in history.
For the final two years of high school, Lee moved back to Brooklyn. This
was during the near-financial bankruptcy of New York City in the early
1970’s and since the orchestra
programs had been done away with, she played the bassoon in the band.
She auditioned and was accepted to the Manhattan All-City Orchestra
during her junior year and at this time finally began private violin
lessons, traveling by subway from the Coney Island/Bensonhurst area of
Brooklyn for nearly two hours each way and financing her own lessons
with money she earned working in a fast food restaurant.
Lee graduated from high school early, and spent the days working and
practicing her violin.
It was during this time, according to Pat, that "I knew I wanted to
major in music". Upon making this decision, her teacher told her, "Don't
do this unless you can't imagine doing anything else." She auditioned for admission to three music
schools, one of which was the
Manhattan School of Music, from where her teacher had
graduated.
While Pat was standing in line waiting to audition for admittance to the
Manhattan School of Music (MSM), she met a soft-spoken young Texan, Brad
Lee, who was also
auditioning, and according to her, they soon began dating, and "it was
love at first
sight."
In addition to earning a scholarship at MSM, Lee also had summer
scholarships
with string quartets at the California Music Center, and she played in
an all-girl disco band called "The Nobles". “This was a hot little band
in the late 70's and we played four nights a week until 2:00 am," said
Lee. The other nine girls were all
Julliard students. Because Brad, her Texan boyfriend and soon-to-be
husband,
was concerned for her safety, he would meet her at 2:00 a.m. and ride
the subway back
with her to the apartment she shared with a cello student from
Texas.
After graduation, the girl from Brooklyn and her Texas husband moved to
San
Antonio, where Brad was a conductor of the Youth Orchestra of San
Antonio, and
where Pat started an orchestra program in a junior high school, and they
had the
first of their four daughters.
Following two years in San Antonio, the Lees moved to Houston where Brad
had a
fellowship to Rice University and played with the Texas Opera Theater
and Houston Grand Opera. It was during their eight years in Houston that
the other three daughters were born.
Pat taught strings in
the performing arts magnet schools in the Houston Independent School
District as well as performing in local and regional orchestras.
Eventually both Pat and Brad became affiliated with an Association
International Montessori School. The "oil bust" of the early 1990’s
brought tough times to Houston, and with it came the demise of the Texas
Opera Theater and the positions with the Montessori School, so Lee and her family
moved back to San Antonio where she taught orchestra for the next eleven
years in the Northeast Independent School District.
Looking for a more nurturing environment for their youngest two
daughters, the Lees moved to
Kerrville in 2004. Pat and Brad had already played with the Symphony of
the Hills for a couple of
years, and heard about job possibilities here. She was subsequently
hired by the Kerrville Independent School District to begin a strings
program in the public schools. She currently teaches in five of
the district's schools. She also was hired by the Hill Country Youth Orchestra and
currently holds the position of Kathleen C. Cailloux Director of
Education and Hill Country Youth Orchestra Conductor Chair.
Lee is also the String Education Coordinator of the Youth Orchestras of
San
Antonio, teaches private string instrument lessons, and along with her
husband, is a founding member of
the Oak Leaf String Quartet.
Her youngest two daughters both attended school in Kerrville, and were
members of the Symphony of the Hills. Both Jessica and Karen were
featured as soloist in "Rising Stars" concerts with the symphony
orchestra.
Of her musical involvements in Kerrville, Lee said, "This is the most
inspiring place
to
be on earth." In working with students in both the Hill Country Youth
Orchestra and in the public schools, she stated that the community
support is
wonderful and "the children here have not been overwhelmed with negative
cultural influences that detract from their natural instincts to be
musical. They are
ready and waiting to be nurtured."
Reflecting on her experience as principal second violinist with the
Symphony of the Hills, Lee said, "It is a musically mature group with a
loyal following, and we
have a beautiful concert hall in which to perform."
Patricia Lee has surely left a legacy of the love of music to not only
her own
daughters, but also to the many students she has taught and is now
teaching. Perseverance has truly paid off for Patricia Lee.
Look for Patricia Lee when the Symphony of the Hills performs its first
Scholarship Concert on August 2, 2008.
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