Faculty Members
Dr. Soojin Lee served as Music Director of the University of Findlay Orchestra, where she conducted regular semester concerts and developed collaborative performances that engaged the broader community. Since 2013, she has been a faculty member at Columbus Academy.
Dr. Lee has been invited to conduct the Berlin Symphony Orchestra in Germany in August 2026. She previously served as Assistant Conductor at the Miami Music Festival, collaborating on major productions including Wagner’s Die Walküre and Holst’s The Planets. Her conducting experience also includes leading the Collegiate Wind Ensemble and University Band at The Ohio State University and teaching with the Columbus Youth Symphony Orchestra. She was additionally selected as an opera conductor for the Realizing Rossini Summer Workshop at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
An active soloist and chamber musician, Dr. Lee won First Prize in the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, which led to a performance at Carnegie Hall in 2014. She has presented numerous solo recitals, including a winner’s recital at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City.
Originally from South Korea, Dr. Lee performed with the Korean Symphony Orchestra in Seoul before moving to the United States in 2006. She earned both a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in Viola Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, as well as a Master of Music in Conducting from The Ohio State University. Her conducting studies included work with Samuel Lee, Mark Gibson, Russell Mikkelson, Masao Kawasaki, and Dr. Catharine Lees.
Conductor
Soojin Lee, DMA
University of Cincinnati, DMA and MM
Guest Artist
Eric Tasai
Violin Soloist and Chamber Player
The Julliard School, MM
Eric Tsai is an up and coming Taiwanese-American violinist whose playing has been described as both “dashing” and “heart-wrenching” (NZ Herald), and whose thoughtful approach to old and new works alike has earned him a place on stages across the globe. The 2nd prize winner of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin competition, Eric has garnered critical acclaim as a soloist and chamber player, as well as a champion of music from Taiwan. Simultaneously, he is a committed educator, passionate about raising up the next generation of young musicians, and maintaining a highly successful private pre-college studio.
Performing as a featured artist throughout the United States, Europe, Taiwan, and New Zealand, Eric is deeply committed to spreading hope and light to audiences around the world through his art. In 2021, at the height of the worldwide pandemic, he partnered with Taiwan Connection’s education outreach program and traveled to elementary schools situated in under-reached communities across the country. Other past community engagement projects include performances at homeless shelters, hospitals, and veteran homes across New York and Philadelphia. Highlights of the 2025-2026 season include the inaugural season of his summer festival, SPIRITUS and continued residencies with Callis Ensemble. Starting in the fall of 2025, Eric will join the internationally recognized Callisto Quartet as their new first violinist, engaging in a busy touring and teaching schedule with the group.
Eric’s mentors include Catherine Cho, Ida Kavafian, and Shmuel Ashkenasi, and he has also worked closely with renowned artists such as Pamela Frank, Peter Wiley, Joseph Lin, Ralph Kirshbaum, and Joseph Silverstein. Recent awards include the semifinals at the Premio Paganini competition in Genoa, Italy, bronze medal at the Fischoff Competition with his piano trio, the prestigious Chimei Arts Award, and participation in the Honors chamber program at Juilliard for the 2022-23 season. Eric received his B.M. from the Curtis Institute of Music and his M.M. from the Juilliard School, and recently completed his coursework at StonyBrook University as a Staller Fellow.
Guest Artist
Ha Eun Song
Columbus Symphony Orchestra Cellist
Yale University, MM
Ha Eun Song, originally from Korea, began her journey with the cello at the age of 13. She earned her Master of Music degrees from Rice University and Yale University, where she received multiple scholarships, including the Norman and Jeanne Kierman Fischer Prize and the Edmund Saranec Scholarship. She completed her Bachelor of Music at Ewha Womans University.
Her cello studies have been guided by renowned mentors including Desmond Hoebig, Paul Watkins, Il-Hwan Bae, and Hyong-Won Chang, with additional lessons and masterclasses with esteemed artists such as Ralph Kirshbaum, Alan Stepansky, Troles Svane, and Gary Hoffman.
Throughout her career, Song received various awards, including the Art/Sports Vision Scholarship from the Korea Student Aid Foundation and multiple prizes in national competitions. She was a winner of the Keston MAX London Symphony Orchestra fellow audition in Music Academy of the West which led her to perform in high-profile venues such as the Barbican Centre in London with the London Symphony Orchestra.
As a passionate chamber musician, Song has worked with renowned string quartets and chamber musicians such as the Brentano String Quartet, Paul Kantor, Glenn Dicterow, Karen Dreyfus, David Geber, Kyung Wha Chung, Brian Connelly and more. She has also participated in many festivals worldwide including Eumyoun International Music Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and Aspen Music Festival where she received the New Horizons Fellowship.
As an orchestra musician, Song performed in many concerts as a principal cellist and she had a previlege to perform under the baton of renowned conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Marin Alsop, Cristian Mǎcelaru, and Gianandrea Noseda. She also performed with New World Symphony, Houston Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony as a substitute musician. She is currently working as a cellist with the Columbus Symphony.
