Jonathan Lee, a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a soloist and Principal Cellist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Jonathan performs regularly with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, joining them as acting Section Cellist for the 2023-2024 season. Jonathan has concertized in many of the major concert halls of the world including the Kennedy Center, Suntory Hall, Kitara Hall, Sydney Opera House, Mozarteum, and Haydn Hall. In the 2022-2023 season, Jonathan made his solo debut with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra performing Michael Schelle’s “Resilience,” a concerto for viola, cello and orchestra.
Passionate about chamber music, Jonathan is a member of the Dayton Philharmonic Principal String Quartet as well as a founding member and Artistic Director of the Immaculata Chamber Music Series, started in the 2018. He regularly collaborates with members of the Cincinnati Symphony and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestras and has appeared on numerous concert series and music festivals including the Pacific Music Festival and National Orchestral Institute. Outside of classical music, he has collaborated and performed with recording artists like Fernando Ortega, Wyclef Jean, Sarah McLaughlan, and Hawthorne Heights.
His primary teachers are Ilya Finkelshteyn and Dr. David Schepps. Jonathan resides in Cincinnati having received degrees from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and Lindner College of Business (MBA). Jonathan is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at CCM.
In addition to his role as a cellist, Jonathan is also the Director of Responsive Arts at Missio Dei Church in Cincinnati and Vice President of the Board of Trustees for the Cincinnati Musicians’ Association, Local 1 of the American Federation of Musicians. When he is not playing cello, Jonathan can be found hammock reading in parks, biking along the Little Miami River, or connecting with people over a cup of coffee.