Okkyung Lee, born in 1975 in Daejeon, South Korea, is a cellist, improviser, and composer who combines several genres such as jazz and traditional Korean music. She studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1993 to 1998, earning a double bachelor's degree in contemporary composition and production, and in film scoring. In 2000, she moved to New York City and became part of its avant-garde music scene. Lee released her debut album Nihm in 2005 on John Zorn's label Tzadik and has collaborated with artists including Laurie Anderson, David Behrman, Jenny Hval, and John Zorn. Throughout her career, Lee has received awards such as the Meet the Composer MetLife Creative Connections grant in 2007 and the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award in 2015. She also leads the Yeo-Neun Quartet, formed in 2016, which released the album Yeo-Neun in 2020.
