Michelle Lee was born and raised in Las Vegas. She started taking private piano lessons at the age of four. Two years later, she joined Roger Bushell's studio, where she would remain a student until leaving for college. Under Bushell's tutelage, Ms. Lee performed and competed on a regular basis, winning various local and state piano competitions (Bolognini, NMEA All-State and the MTNA Junior Division). As a teenager, she performed the Mozart Two-Piano Concerto, Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1, and the Grieg Piano Concerto on several occasions with the Youth Camerata Orchestra and the Henderson Symphony Orchestra.
At the age of 13, Michelle Lee also began studying violin with Oscar Carrescia. She quickly accelerated in her violin studies, and after only two years, Carrescia invited her to be the concert-master of his orchestra, the Youth Camerata. Due to Carrescia's Argentine heritage, the orchestra frequently premiered tangos by Astor Piazzola. Additionally, Ms. Lee participated in several chamber ensembles throughout high school, performing trios and quartets by Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
Ms. Lee attended the Las Vegas Academy, a performing arts high school, where acceptance is based on audition and GPA. She graduated as valedictorian and decided to pursue a degree in piano performance.
She chose a full scholarship offer to study at Utah State University with Gary Amano. While in college, she also worked as rehearsal and performance pianist for the Utah State Opera program, under director Cindy Dewey. When Ms. Lee graduated Magna Cum Laude from Utah State, she had both a Piano Pedagogy Diploma and a Bachelor's in Accounting.
She had several job offers waiting and decided to join the Seattle office of Ernst & Young, an international public accounting firm. She served as an auditor the next two years and became a licensed CPA.
Shortly thereafter, Michelle Lee moved back to Las Vegas to once again pursue her love of music. She initially worked as a piano teacher for Southern Nevada Music and Club Z. Today Ms. Lee maintains her own private studio of over 30 students. She is also a staff accompanist for the Nevada School of the Arts and a free-lance accompanist for the University of Las Vegas and other string, woodwind, and voice studios. Michelle Lee serves as a Board Member for the Las Vegas and Nevada Music Teachers Associations and Las Vegas Federation of Music Clubs, founder and chairperson of the Legacy Competition, co-chair of the Ensemble Festival and chairperson of the Silver State Music Competition.
