Lee Santana, born in 1959, is an American lutenist and composer. He began his musical journey playing rock and jazz guitar as a child and teenager before transitioning to classical guitar during his studies. Fascinated by early music and historical instruments, particularly the lute, Lee Santana focused on historical performance practice and early music at Emerson College (Longy School of Music) in Boston, studying lute with Patrick O’Brien and Stephen Stubbs, and composition with Richard Cornell. In 1984, he moved to Germany, where he has since worked as a freelance lutenist and composer. Lee Santana has collaborated with various ensembles including the Harp Consort, the Freiburger Barockorchester, and recorder player Maurice Steger. Notable releases include The Star and the Sea (2002), Cradle of Conceits (2008), In darkness let mee dwell (2008) with Dorothee Mields and Hille Perl, which won an Echo Klassik Prize in 2010, and Pentagram (2011).
