BIOGRAPHY

Yongbom Lee is a Leipzig-based Korean composer and interdisciplinary artist. Distorted lyricism and scenic elements with visionary soundscape are characteristic of Lee’s work. His artistic journey unfolds at the intersection of music, neuroscience, and visual art, where he explores the synthesis of these disciplines to create transformative and immersive experiences. His compositions include from instrumental concert music to electronic, film and theatre music. Blending analogue with digital, signal with noise, traditional with experimental, his passion is a constant exploration of musical styles, reflecting his culturally varied experiences.

 

He has received commissions from Ensemble Modern, ORF Austria 1, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Austria, Ensemble TIMF, Pyramidale Berlin among others. His music has been performed or recorded by Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Recherche, the Ensemble of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble reconsil, International Ensemble Modern Academy, Broken Frames Syndicate and Éric-Maria Couturier from Ensemble intercontemporain.

​

Yongbom Lee has received numerous prizes and grants such as, Ö1 Talentebörse Composition Award 2016, Promotion Award of the City of Vienna for the Music 2018, 1st composition prize at the VII. International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna, State Scholarship for Composition from the Federal Chancellery of Austria, Working Scholarship for Composition from Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Composition Scholarship from the Federal Republic of Germany with the Cité Internationale des Arts Paris, GVL Scholarship Program in Germany. In 2022, he was selected for his portrait CD by Edition Zeitgenössische Musik (EZM), which will be released by WERGO. ORF Ö1 (Austria) and Rai Südtirol (Italy) sent portrait radio broadcast about him and his works.

​

He graduated in composition at the Yonsei University in Seoul (BMus) and in 2016 with distinction at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (Mag. art.). He studied composition with Michael Jarrell, Johannes Maria Staud, Iris Ter-Schiphorst and Cheong-mook Kim, music theory with Gesine Schröder. He was stipendiary composer at the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA) 2017/18 in Frankfurt and fellow artist at the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute 2022 in Scotland, UK.

 

His works are published by viennese publisher Doblinger and Universal Edition. He is composer and founding member of neuro-music collective aiar in Leipzig. Since 2018 Yongbom Lee has been a lecturer at the University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig.

​

​

​

| Prizes, awards and scholarships

 

2024 Künstlerförderung der Stadt Leipzig

2024 Kompositions-Stipendium Cité Internationale des Arts Paris

2023 Residenzförderung in StudioNAXOS Frankfurt am Main / Fonds Darstellende Künste

2023 DMR Stipendienprogramm / NEUSTART KULTUR

2022 Auswahl für eine Portrait-CD im Rahmen der Edition des Deutschen Musikrates

          in Zusammenarbeit mit dem deutschen Label WERGO

2022 Fellow Artist Scholarship / Diverse Intelligences Summer Institut, Schottland

2022 DMR Stipendienprogramm / NEUSTART KULTUR

2022 gvl-Stipendienprogramm / Verwertungsgesellschaft für Künstler und Labels

2020 Research Scholarship / Canada Council for the Arts

2019 Auftragskomponist bei der Botschaft der Republik Korea in Österreich

2018 Stipendiat bei der Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie

2018 Staatsstipendium für Komposition / Bundeskanzleramt Österreich

2018 Förderpreis der Stadt Wien in der Sparte Musik

2017 Arbeitsstipendium für Komposition / Bundeskanzleramt Österreich

2016 Ö1 Talentebörse Kompositionspreis

2016 1. Kompositionspreis beim VII. Internationalen Joseph Haydn Kammermusikwettbewerb in Wien