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Sunghee Lee is a haegeum artist whose work reconfigures Korean traditional music through contemporary performance. Her practice centers on participatory sound and embodied experience, expanding the role of the instrument beyond conventional performance contexts.
A central concept in Lee’s work is “pan,” understood as a shared space shaped through interaction and presence. Her projects explore how sound is produced, transmitted, and experienced collectively, often integrating performance, voice, and spatial structure.
Lee has developed an active solo practice alongside her work with Jeong Ga Ak Hoe, one of South Korea’s leading contemporary traditional music ensembles. Her recordings include The Singing Haegeum and The PAAN of Haegeum series, reflecting her ongoing exploration of the instrument’s sonic and conceptual possibilities.
Her recent work extends into new contexts, including projects developed in the United States that engage questions of cultural translation, perception, and identity.
She is also active as a researcher and educator, and currently serves as an Associate Professor at Yeungnam University.
Performances, Workshops, Lectures in the U.S.
Performances, Workshops, Lectures in the U.S.
Featured Performer - Chunhyang Project, presented by KPAC (Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago), Chicago, IL, USA (2026)
Lecture-concert - St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, USA (2026)
Faculty Performance & Guest Presentation - Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL, USA (2026)
Guest Lecture – Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA (2026)
Featured Performer – National Folk Festival, presented by National Folk Festival, Jackson, MS, USA (2025)
Featured Performer - Millennium Stage, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, presented by The John F. Kennedy Center; in collaboration with Threaded Resonance (interdisciplinary performance context), Washington, DC, USA (2026)
SEM Conference _ SEM Orchestra _Performing workshop
Atlanta, GA — Oct 23-27, 2025
Georgia Tech 추석행사 _Performing workshop
Georgia Tech, GA — Oct 09, 2025
Kennesaw State University 추석 행사 _ Performing workshop
Kennesaw State University, GA — Oct 07, 2025
Korean Festival_Haegeum Project _ Performing & Producing
Atlanata Korean Festival, Sugaloaf Mill, GA — Oct 04-05, 2025
K-Classic Concert “Thank You America!” (80th Anniversary of Liberation) _Soloist
Gas South Theater, Atlanta, GA — August 15, 2025
A Path Carved by the Wind (Chicago KPAC Annual Concert) _Featured Performer
Christian Heritage Academy, Northfield, IL — June 27, 2025
Strings Attached Across the Pacific: World Premiere of “Calling of the Whales” _Featured Performer
AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas, TX — May 10–11, 2025
Chinese Music Ensemble Spring Concert _Solois
Hodgson Concert Hall, University of Georgia Performing Arts Center, Athens, GA — April 7, 2025
Beautiful Sound of Korea(Atlanta KCC Annual Concert) _Featured Performer
Clary Theater, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA — February 11, 2024
Wooden Fish Ensemble Annual Concert 2020
Old First Concerts, San Francisco, CA — February 9, 2020
Wooden Fish Ensemble
Campbell Recital Hall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA — February 8, 2020
Haegeum Recital by Sunghee Lee
Campbell Recital Hall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA — February 7, 2020
Premiere of All the Noises in the World (composer Hyo-shin Na), haegeum soloist with JeongGaAkHoe
Old First Concerts, San Francisco, CA — May 19, 2006
Haegeum
The haegeum is a traditional Korean two-stringed fiddle. It produces sound by rubbing a bow made of horsehair between two twisted silk strings, which are stretched over a small resonator crafted from bamboo root. The name Haegeum is recorded to have originated from the Hae tribe, who lived near the border region between present-day Mongolia and China and were known for playing a similar bowed instrument. The haegeum was introduced to Korea from the Song dynasty during the Goryeo dynasty(1114 ) period and was subsequently adapted and refined to suit Korean musical aesthetics.
In playing the instrument, the right hand makes a friction between the bow and the string while the left hand covers and grabs the two strings at once or release from them to tune in the height of a note. The sound is made only by the performer's musical sense without any other supplementary device. The jewel of playing Haegeum is to make charming sounds by using 'Yeokanbeop' a technique whereby the two strings are grabbed and pressed together, or release and shaken. This is different from 'Eolhu' of China, a similar instrument with Haegeum as a rubbed string with which musical notes are plucked with fingertips under the technique called 'Gyeonganbeop.'
Haegeum is the only musical instrument fully equipped with traditional eight materials - 金 (gold), 石 (stone), 絲 (silk), 竹 (bamboo), 匏 (gourd), 土 (soil), 革 (leather), and 木 (wood).
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