Artist Biographies

Christopher James Lees

resident conductor

Emerging American conductor Christopher James Lees brings passionate and nuanced orchestral performances to the stage, a fierce commitment to contemporary music, and a natural charisma to audiences all around the world.

In 2018, Mr. Lees began an appointment as Resident Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra. In addition to the more than 50 annual concert appearances with the CSO, he has stepped in to conduct Subscription Classical performances on four occasions, including a gala weekend with Grammy Award winning artist and Jazz legend Branford Marsalis in May 2021.

An active guest conductor, Mr. Lees has returned for performances with the Los Angeles and Rochester Philharmonics, the Houston, Detroit, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Portland, and Flint Symphonies, and conducted debuts with the Indianapolis, Kansas City, Toledo, and Vermont Symphonies.

Additional engagements have taken him to the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestra de Chambre de Paris, Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and at the Music in the Mountains Festival & Festival Internacional de Inverno de Campos do Jordão in Brazil.

Only the second American Gustavo Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mr. Lees made his debut with the orchestra in April 2013 and returned for concerts in February 2015.

With the New York Philharmonic, St. Louis & Atlanta Symphonies, among others, Mr. Lees has served as assistant conductor for the world’s leading conductors, including: Gustavo Dudamel, Paavo Järvi, Herbert Blomstedt, Leonard Slatkin, David Robertson, Robert Spano, Marin Alsop, Pablo Heras-Casado, Stéphane Danève, Susanna Mälkki, and Nicholas McGegan.

A recipient of a Career Assistance Grant from the Solti Foundation US, Mr. Lees was also chosen for showcase on the Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation National Conductor Preview, hosted by the League of American Orchestras and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

A dedicated advocate for music of our time, Mr. Lees has premiered more than one hundred fifty new works by a diverse range of composers, and collaborated closely with Pulitzer Prize winners John Adams, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Jennifer Higdon, Joseph Schwantner, Steven Stucky, Caroline Shaw, Roger Reynolds, and Julia Wolfe.

An equally passionate advocate for music education, Mr. Lees has brought inspirational energy to student orchestras across the country, from the Colburn School to the New England Conservatory, and previously served on the faculties of the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

A native of Washington, D.C., Mr. Lees holds bachelors and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, and has studied conducting with Larry Rachleff and Robert Spano, as well as having participated in masterclasses with Lorin Maazel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gustav Meier, and Jorma Panula.

When not performing, Mr. Lees can be found building Lego sets with his six year old son, reading the stack of books by his nightstand, or training outdoors for his next 10K road race.

Evan Currie

organist

A native of Charlotte, NC, and an experienced organist, choral accompanist, and vocalist, Evan is a much soughtafter accompanist. He has collaborated with multiple choirs in the New York City and New Jersey areas such as Musica Dulce at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the All Souls Professional Choir at All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City. He has also concertized with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey’s Summer Keyboard Festival and the Old West Organ Society of Boston, MA.

As a solo recitalist and guest artist, Evan has performed and collaborated in various musical performances throughout New York City and the greater New Jersey metropolitan area, Boston, Washington D.C., Charlotte, Greenville, Rochester, Montreal, and Arezzo, Rome, and Milan, Italy.

Evan was named an E. Power Biggs Fellow for the Organ Historical Society’s 2018 Convention in Rochester, NY. In addition to this fellowship, Mr. Currie was awarded second prize in the American Guild of Organists Brooklyn Chapter’s 2018 George Mathison Memorial Competition and a full stipend to attend the Montreal Organ Festival and McGill Organ Summer Academy. During his studies at the institute, he was selected to participate in a master class with Olivier Latry, titular-organist of Notre-Dame of Paris.

A graduate of Furman University in Greenville, SC, Evan earned a Bachelor of Music degree, cum laude, in organ performance as a student of Dr. Charles Tompkins and served as the Chancel Choir accompanist. In addition to his degree in organ, Evan augmented his studies with secondary concentrations in piano and voice, studying piano with Dr. Ruby Morgan and voice with Mrs. Lisa Barksdale and Dr. Trudy Hines Fuller. He completed additional performance studies in Arezzo, Italy at the Accademia dell’ Arte and served as an intern at The Juilliard School in New York City.

Evan holds a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, studying with acclaimed organist, Renée Anne Louprette. During his graduate studies at Mason Gross, Mr. Currie was awarded the Arthur G. Humphrey Memorial Prize for outstanding work in keyboard music. He is also the recipient of the David A. Drinkwater and Gladwell-Durham scholarship prizes for excellence in keyboard performance.