“I know it’s rare. I’m one of the lucky ones,” says Joseph Lee. “What do you want be when you grow up?” was a question that he never had trouble answering. When he was in the 5th grade, his grandmother saw an ad in the town’s classifieds searching for young people to play in the youth orchestra. His parents called and he became part of the trumpet section. This youth orchestra is where he discovered the string section and, by the time he was 12 years old, he had decided that he wanted to be an orchestra conductor. At that young age, he told his parents that he needed to play the cello so he would learn more about the strings. Before he turned 14, he had devised a plan to play the bassoon in the hopes that he would earn a scholarship to a great music school. Well, the plan worked. Today, he leads professional, university, and youth orchestras and has made music on four continents. He also leads music in an incredible East Nashville church. His husband of 15 years, Alexei, and their princess, Butters, inspire him every day. This is his story!
