Albert R. Lee has earned acclaim as a tenor of “vocally sumptuous” and “musically distinctive” artistry. He has appeared with Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Palm Beach Opera, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, Vermont Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Saint Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, the Collegiate Chorale of New York City, the Caramoor International Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. His operatic roles include Don Ramiro (La Cenerentola), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Nemorino (L’Elisir d’Amore), and Ferrando (Così fan tutte), and he has been featured in concert works such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Handel’s Messiah and Judas Maccabeus, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater.

Equally at home in recital and oratorio, Lee has performed widely with the American Spiritual Ensemble, preserving and expanding the legacy of the Negro Spiritual in performances across the United States and abroad. He has curated programs of Langston Hughes poetry in art song, including an acclaimed appearance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Recent highlights include Adolphus Hailstork’s I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes with the London Symphony Orchestra and at Carnegie Hall, R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses with In Series Opera in Washington, D.C. and the New Haven Symphony, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Vista Philharmonic.

His discography includes A Breath of Air (Navona Records, 2024), a collection of art songs by Monica Houghton setting texts by Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman, and George Walker’s Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra with Sinfonia da Camera (Albany Records, 2013). He has also recorded with the American Spiritual Ensemble, including the nationally televised PBS documentary The Spirituals.

Lee is Associate Professor of Music and Associate Dean for Student Life and Community Engagement at the Yale School of Music, where he teaches courses on the history of the spiritual, Black composers in the Western classical tradition, Langston Hughes’ place as a literary figure in American music culture, and artistry and entrepreneurship. A compelling public speaker, he has delivered keynotes and lectures across the country, including a widely viewed TEDx talk, When I Sing the Anthem.

A graduate of the University of Connecticut (BM), The Juilliard School (MM, Professional Studies), and Florida State University (DM), Albert R. Lee continues to inspire audiences and students alike at the intersection of performance, scholarship, and service.