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“Dr. Dongryul Lee’s works are alluring, sparkling, thoughtful, and carefully crafted. Each work has a unique concept, which he researches deeply and personalizes.”
Described as ‘positively apocalyptic’ (Chicago Classical Review), ‘sounding like dense reefs of exotic corals’ (The Strad), and ‘alluring, sparkling, thoughtful, and carefully crafted’ (Augusta Read Thomas), Chicago-based composer Dongryul Lee[1] crafts music that entwines the acoustical nature of sound with clarity, pathos, and reinvented classical expressions. Drawing inspiration from Borgesian poetics and Jungian philosophy to number theory and artificial intelligence, he creates works ranging from research-driven solo and chamber to large-scale choral and orchestral works that interweave spirituality and environmental reflection. His background as a Korean immigrant, a composer with a computer science degree, and a thinker shaped by both Catholic and Buddhist traditions informs a musical language that bridges scientific inquiry and expressive depth. His longtime fascination with bells—deepened through his research assistantship for the McFarland Carillon in Urbana—led him to doctoral research in engineering campanology, culminating in a series of bell-inspired pieces including Le Tombeau de Harvey and TimeStory.
“Positively apocalyptic. Quotations of the Dies Irae mingle with Buddhist chant to dispel any notion of a silver lining.”
Highlights of recent seasons include the premiere of Missa Laudato Si’, an hour-long choral-sinfonietta work inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical on ecology. Commissioned by the EcoVoice Project, it was premiered at Loyola University Chicago in March 2025, conducted by Kirsten Hedegaard and featuring Chungho Lee as piano soloist. Other recent works include The Ci(r)cadian Tree, commissioned by Benjamin Sung and David Kalhous for their Extension Project, with premieres at Florida State University and in Chicago and Urbana; Le Tombeau de Harvey (2022) and the deep-learning-based On a Winter’s Night a Traveller (2024), both premiered at the New England Conservatory by pianist Ariel Mo, a long-standing collaborator; the bell-inspired TimeStory (2021), based on his dissertation A Thousand Carillons, and performed by the Grossman Ensemble at the Logan Center for the Arts in Chicago (2021), with its research also presented at the IRCAM Forum Workshop in Montréal (2021); and Unending Rose (2020), performed in Berlin by the Kairos Quartett with support from the Theodore Presser Foundation, Arts Council Korea, and Kultur Büro Elisabeth Berlin. His A finite island in the infinite ocean was premiered at the Fromm Players Concerts at Harvard by Miranda Cuckson.
“The virtuosic microtonal exercise A finite island in the infinite ocean (2020). Given the title, passages sound like dense reefs of exotic corals. […] In an appealing illusion, the violinist created a faint echo effect, as if subtly enlarging the space.”
1. Korean: 이동렬 [iː doŋ ɾjəɾ]; pronouns: he/him.
2. Adjudicated by the jury: Thomas Adès (chair), Unsuk Chin, Chaya Czernowin, Gyula Fekete.
3. Adjudicated by the jury: Michele Biasutti (President), Edmund Campion, Juraj Ďuriš, Harald Muenz, Roberta Silvestrini
4. Adjudicated by the jury: Ivan Fedele (President), Gerhard Stabler, Clotilde Rosa, João Madureira, Pedro Figueiredo, Jaime Reis, and Jorge Sá Machado
5. At Zinopix (2002-04) and NCSoft (2004-06).
6. Before coming to the US in 2008, Lee studied music privately, piano with Yoon Jeong Kim (2003-2004), Ji Yun Lee (2006-2007); piano and music theory with Hee Yeon Chin (2004-2006); counterpoint and composition with Tae-hoon Kim (2006-2007); aural skills with Nam Hui Lee (2005), and attended music courses at Yonsei University–Tonal Harmony I (2000) and II (2007), Orchestration, 16th Century Counterpoint, Conducting Technique (all 2007), et al.
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“Dr. Dongryul Lee’s works are alluring, sparkling, thoughtful, and carefully crafted. Each work has a unique concept, which he researches deeply and personalizes.”
– Augusta Read Thomas (Director of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition)
Described as ‘positively apocalyptic’ (Chicago Classical Review), ‘sounding like dense reefs of exotic corals’ (The Strad), and ‘alluring, sparkling, thoughtful, and carefully crafted’ (Augusta Read Thomas), Chicago-based composer Dongryul Lee[1] crafts music that entwines the acoustical nature of sound with clarity, pathos, and reinvented classical expressions. Drawing inspiration from Borgesian poetics and Jungian philosophy to number theory and artificial intelligence, he creates works ranging from research-driven solo and chamber to large-scale choral and orchestral works that interweave spirituality and environmental reflection. His background as a Korean immigrant, a composer with a computer science degree, and a thinker shaped by both Catholic and Buddhist traditions informs a musical language that bridges scientific inquiry and expressive depth. His longtime fascination with bells—deepened through his research assistantship for the McFarland Carillon in Urbana—led him to doctoral research in engineering campanology, culminating in a series of bell-inspired pieces including Le Tombeau de Harvey and TimeStory.
“Positively apocalyptic. Quotations of the Dies Irae mingle with Buddhist chant to dispel any notion of a silver lining.”
– Landon Hegedus (Chicago Classical Review), On Missa Laudato Si’
Highlights of recent seasons include the premiere of Missa Laudato Si’, an hour-long choral-sinfonietta work inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical on ecology. Commissioned by the EcoVoice Project, it was premiered at Loyola University Chicago in March 2025, conducted by Kirsten Hedegaard and featuring Chungho Lee as piano soloist. Other recent works include The Ci(r)cadian Tree, commissioned by Benjamin Sung and David Kalhous for their Extension Project, with premieres at Florida State University and in Chicago and Urbana; Le Tombeau de Harvey (2022) and the deep-learning-based On a Winter’s Night a Traveller (2024), both premiered at the New England Conservatory by pianist Ariel Mo, a long-standing collaborator; the bell-inspired TimeStory (2021), based on his dissertation A Thousand Carillons, and performed by the Grossman Ensemble at the Logan Center for the Arts in Chicago (2021), with its research also presented at the IRCAM Forum Workshop in Montréal (2021); and Unending Rose (2020), performed in Berlin by the Kairos Quartett with support from the Theodore Presser Foundation, Arts Council Korea, and Kultur Büro Elisabeth Berlin. His A finite island in the infinite ocean was premiered at the Fromm Players Concerts at Harvard by Miranda Cuckson.
“… including sections of the Pope’s letter, a list of endangered species, and a poem by the Korean Zen poet Shiva Ryu. Lee weaves these texts together to help people reflect on climate change.”
– Yale Climage Connections (Sarah Kennedy) on Missa Laudato Si’
Lee’s music has been presented at venues such as NEC’s Jordan Hall and Brown Hall, the Logan Center, Harpa Concert Hall, Villa Elisabeth, Ilshin Hall, Krannert Center, as well as through presenters and series including UChicago Presents and the Fromm Players Concerts at Harvard University. His works have been performed by distinguished ensembles including the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, Kairos Quartett, Ensemble TIMF, Taukay Ensemble, the Jupiter String Quartet, the Mivos Quartet, Callithumpian Consort, GMCL Lisboa, S.E.M. Ensemble, Conference Ensemble, Ensemble Paramirabo, Cello Loft, the Illini Piano Trio, Illinois Modern Ensemble, and Chicago-based ensembles Grossman Ensemble, Dal Niente, New Earth Ensemble, and Axiom Brass. Lee has collaborated with celebrated soloists including Miranda Cuckson, Ariel Mo, Benjamin Sung, David Kalhous, Chungho Lee (이충호), Dahyun Chung (정다현), Eugenia Jeong, Matt Oliphant, Hannah Collins, Balázs Kálvin, Amber Evans, Eric Moore, Nicolee Kuester, Sungmin Shin, Laura Liu, Hanqian Zhu, Tomoko Ono, Brendan White, and Chukyung Park (박주경).
He has also worked with conductors including Vimbayi Kaziboni, James Baker, Jeffrey Means, Jerry Hou, Kirsten Hedegaard, and others across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
“The virtuosic microtonal exercise A finite island in the infinite ocean (2020). Given the title, passages sound like dense reefs of exotic corals. […] In an appealing illusion, the violinist created a faint echo effect, as if subtly enlarging the space.”
– THE STRAD (Bruce Hodges) on A finite island in the infinite ocean
He was designated as an Alternate for the Fromm Music Foundation Commission (2025); awarded the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship, which supported his study with Jukka Tiensuu (2020); and received the Theodore Presser Foundation Award in Music (2019). His honors also include prizes from the first Bartók World Competition (Hungary, 2018)[2], the Composition Competition Città di Udine (Italy, 2018)[3], the 3rd GMCL Competition (Portugal, 2017)[4], and the Busan Maru Competition (South Korea). Other recognitions include the Jupiter Quartet Guest Artist Award (2017) at the University of Illinois, a Cello Loft Commission, recognition from the American Prize in Composition (Student Orchestra Division, 2015), Honorable Mention in the 11th Chengdu Sun River Prize (China, 2015), as well as multiple composition prizes from the Eastman School of Music, including two Bernard Rogers Memorial Prizes. His work was recognized by the 2020 BabelScores Reading Panel and is included in the BabelScores catalog.
“Lee is exploring a complex net of tunings that foreground unfamiliar kinds of consonances between notes of the solo violin. [...] but Lee raises the ante by allowing considerably more complex sonic relationships to emerge. The result is a piece which sounds entirely fresh yet somehow natural in its unfolding.”
– Robert Hasegawa, editor of The Oxford Handbook of Orchestration Studies, On A finite island in the infinite ocean
Lee was the 2020–21 CCCC Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Chicago’s Center for Contemporary Composition.
He first earned a BS in computer science and industrial systems engineering from Yonsei University and worked as a software engineer[5] before turning to music full-time. He studied music and practiced piano privately for five years in preparation for formal study[6], later earning his BM in composition at the Eastman School of Music. He has studied composition with Jukka Tiensuu, Heinrich Taube, Reynold Tharp, Stephen Andrew Taylor, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Erin Gee, Taehoon Kim, and others; conducting with Brad Lubman and Mark Davis Scatterday; and piano with Tony Caramia, Ji Yun Lee, and Yoon Jeong Kim. He has also participated in composition residencies with Chaya Czernowin, Jennifer Higdon, Julian Anderson, Mario Davidovsky, and Joshua Fineberg. A dedicated teacher, Lee is Assistant Professor of Music at Loyola University Chicago, where he coordinates Theory and Composition. He has also taught at the University of Chicago, North Central College, Harper College, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he earned his MM and DMA degrees.
“It evolved into something entirely unique and hauntingly beautiful. The energy as we performed was unanimous, from start to finish. Every single performer and audience member felt connected to our planet and called to its defense."
– From a student reflection on the premiere of Missa Laudato Si’
2. Adjudicated by the jury: Thomas Adès (chair), Unsuk Chin, Chaya Czernowin, Gyula Fekete.
3. Adjudicated by the jury: Michele Biasutti (President), Edmund Campion, Juraj Ďuriš, Harald Muenz, Roberta Silvestrini
4. Adjudicated by the jury: Ivan Fedele (President), Gerhard Stabler, Clotilde Rosa, João Madureira, Pedro Figueiredo, Jaime Reis, and Jorge Sá Machado
5. At Zinopix (2002-04) and NCSoft (2004-06).
6. Before coming to the US in 2008, Lee studied music privately, piano with Yoon Jeong Kim (2003-2004), Ji Yun Lee (2006-2007); piano and music theory with Hee Yeon Chin (2004-2006); counterpoint and composition with Tae-hoon Kim (2006-2007); aural skills with Nam Hui Lee (2005), and attended music courses at Yonsei University–Tonal Harmony I (2000) and II (2007), Orchestration, 16th Century Counterpoint, Conducting Technique (all 2007), et al.
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