Okkyung Lee - Topic

Okkyung Lee is a South Korean cellist, improviser, and composer.
Lee moved to Boston in 1993, where she received a dual bachelor's degree in Contemporary Writing and Production and Film Scoring, and a master's degree in Contemporary Improvisation.
In 2000, Lee moved to New York and immersed herself in the city's downtown music scene. Since then, she has collaborated with a wide range of musicians and artists, including Laurie Anderson, Arca, David Behrman, Rashad Becker, Daniel Blumberg, Mark Fell, Douglas Gordon, Jenny Hval, Vijay Iyer, Christian Marclay, Lasse Marhaug, Thurston Moore, Stephen O'Malley, Lawrence D "Butch" Morris, Jim O’Rourke, Evan Parker, Marina Rosenfeld, Wadada Leo Smith, Swans, Cecil Taylor, and John Zorn.
Lee received a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant in 2010, Doris Duke Performing Artist Award in 2015 and Instant Award in Improvised Music in 2020. She was a fellow of the DAAD Artist-in-Berlin-Program in 2025.
She played cello in the score for the 2025 film The Testament of Ann Lee.