Albert R. Lee is an internationally acclaimed tenor, scholar, and higher education leader whose career bridges the worlds of performance, scholarship, and service. Lauded for his “vocally sumptuous” and “musically distinctive” singing, he has appeared with Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Palm Beach Opera, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, Vermont Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, Saint Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, the Collegiate Chorale of New York City, the Caramoor International Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. His operatic repertoire includes Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri, alongside concert performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah and Judas Maccabeus, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater.

A dedicated interpreter of American music, Lee has performed extensively with the American Spiritual Ensemble, preserving and expanding the performance tradition of the Negro Spirituals across the United States and abroad. He has also curated and performed recital programs devoted to the poetry of Langston Hughes, including a lauded appearance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. His recent concert engagements include Adolphus Hailstork’s I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes with the London Symphony Orchestra and at Carnegie Hall; R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses with In Series Opera in Washington, D.C. and the New Haven Symphony; Chariot Jubilee with the Ithaca College Choirs; and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Vista Philharmonic.

Lee’s discography reflects his dual commitment to performance and scholarship. He is featured on A Breath of Air (Navona Records, 2024), a recording of art songs by Monica Houghton setting texts by Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman, highlighted on Apple Music Classical’s “The Classical Voice” playlist. He is also the tenor soloist in George Walker’s Pulitzer Prize–winning Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra, recorded with Sinfonia da Camera (Albany Records, 2013), and has appeared on several releases with the American Spiritual Ensemble, including the nationally televised PBS documentary The Spirituals.

As a scholar, Lee’s research centers on the intersection of African American literature and music, with particular focus on Langston Hughes. His doctoral treatise, The Poetic Voice of Langston Hughes in American Art Song (Florida State University, 2012), established the foundation for an array of lectures, publications, and conference presentations. His writings include chapters in Music Education on the Verge: Stories of Pandemic Teaching and Transformative Change (2022) and Prejudice, Stigma, Privilege, and Oppression: A Behavioral Health Handbook (2020). He has presented at the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the American Choral Directors Association, and Columbia University’s “Restaging the Harlem Renaissance,” among many other venues. A compelling public speaker, he is in demand as a lecturer and keynote presenter, with recent appearances at Sacred Heart University, Bethune Cookman University, and Arizona State University. His widely viewed TEDx talk, When I Sing the Anthem (2017), offers a deeply personal reflection on patriotism, identity, and the power of music.

Lee currently serves as Associate Professor of Music and Associate Dean for Student Life and Community Engagement at the Yale School of Music, where he previously served as the inaugural Director of Equity, Belonging, and Student Life. At Yale, he teaches courses in music literature and culture — including surveys of Black composers, the history of the spiritual, the literary voice of Langston Hughes in music, artistry and entrepreneurship — while also overseeing student life initiatives, career development resources, and the Music in Schools Initiative. He has also held faculty positions at the University of Nevada, Reno, Troy University, and Lincoln University, and has directed university opera productions ranging from Suor Angelica to world premieres.

A committed advocate for equity and leadership in the arts, Lee has served on the boards of the Reno Philharmonic and the Neighborhood Music School, as regional officer of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and as president of the Pi Zeta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. His leadership has been recognized with the University of Nevada, Reno’s Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity Leadership Award (2018) and the Knight of Honor Award from Notre Dame High School (2023).

Lee received his Bachelor of Music degree (cum laude) from the University of Connecticut, Master of Music and Professional Studies diplomas from The Juilliard School, and Doctor of Music from Florida State University. His early training included residencies and fellowships with Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Palm Beach Opera, the Aspen Music Festival, the Caramoor International Music Festival, and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.