Albert R. Lee is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Equity, Belonging and Student Life at the Yale School of Music. With degrees from the University of Connecticut, The Juilliard School, and Florida State University, he has made a career as a classical vocalist in opera, oratorio, recital, and liturgical music. Professor Lee is a featured soloist on a recording of works by composer George Walker on Albany Records, singing musical settings of the Walt Whitman poem “When lilacs last in dooryard bloomed,” a poem written as an elegy to Abraham Lincoln after his assassination. A sought-after guest lecturer, he recently offered the keynote address for Sacred Heart University’s MLK observance. His TedTalk titled “When I Sing the Anthem” offers a deeply personal perspective on the significance of performing the National Anthem throughout his career. Professor Lee draws inspiration from the literary works of Langston Hughes, the focus of his doctoral and post-doctoral research, as well as his unique artistic, spiritual, and personal journey from childhood to his current life as a performer, scholar, and higher education administrator.
