Matthew Chi Lee (He/Him) serves as the Choir Director at John P. Stevens High School in Edison, New Jersey, where his choirs have consistently achieved superior and gold ratings at local, national, and international choral festivals. Choirs at JPSHS have performed at the ACDA Eastern Regional Conference (2022) and the ACDA National Conference (2023), as well as the NAfME All-Eastern conference (2017) and the NJMEA State Conference (2024). His choirs have also earned recognition at international competitions, including the Grand Prize, Conductor’s Award, and Morten Lauridsen Award at the Interkultur Sing ’N’ Joy Princeton International Choir Festival (in 2017 and 2019).

Matthew Lee has prepared numerous honor choirs throughout New Jersey, including the North Jersey Region Treble Choir, the Morris Area Honor Choir, NJ All-State Treble Choir and the NJ All-State Mixed Choir. Mr. Lee has also conducted the Central Jersey Intermediate Treble Choir, the Central Jersey HS Treble Choir, the All Sussex County Honor Chorus, the ACDA-PA Vocal Thunder Tenor-Bass Festival, the Connecticut Eastern Region HS Festival, and the Morris Area HS Honor Choir. He has presented sessions at the NJMEA All-State Music Educators Conference, the NJACDA Summer Conference, and the New York ACDA Summer Conference.

Lee received the rank of Distinguished Honorable Mention in the 2024 Inaugural MidAmerica Productions International Carnegie Hall Conducting Competition and received accolades from Sir John Rutter, CBE, who said, “Matthew Chi Lee’s young singers passionately wanted to give the last drop of their blood to the music…rising to the challenge of something new and delivering a convincing performance beyond their comfort zone.” In 2026, the JPSHS A cappella Ensemble appeared in a solo set at Carnegie Hall, NYC, as part of MidAmerica Productions’ Ensemble Spotlight Series.

In addition to his activities on the podium, Lee is in demand as a vocalist, having had performed with the Harmonium Chamber Singers, Delaware Choral Scholars, as well as the professional choir Elevation. He is the assistant conductor at Christ Church in Summit, NJ, and has performed internationally in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and France. He holds degrees from Northwestern University and Florida State University, where his independent study focused on culturally responsive pedagogy and multicultural choral music.