Roc Lee, composer and pianist, is currently pursuing his Masters in Music Composition with an emphasis in Stage Music at the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at the Catholic University of America (CUA), where he is studying composition under Dr. Andrew E. Simpson.  He graduated from the Houghton College Greatbatch School of Music in the Spring of 2007 with a Bachelor’s in Music Composition magna cum laude under Dr. Mark Hijleh. He has been invited twice to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s Student Composers Forum for professional readings of his orchestral pieces and has also attended the Pacific North West Film Scoring Program under Emmy Award-winning composer Hummie Mann.  He has also been accepted into the Oxford OPUS Honors program and will be studying Shakespeare, History of Opera in the English Language, and History of Musical Theatre in the Fall of 2009.

In addition to composing music for a wide variety of ensembles and occasions, Roc has had experience as a producer for Oh My Darlin’ Clementine, an original one-act musical, as a backstage manager, as a sound technician, as a digital video editor, and as a film composer.  At Catholic University, Roc has been exploring the possibilities of dramatic music and has collaborated on music for dance, incidental music, opera, and musical theatre, in addition to film.  He also serves as treasurer for the student chapter of SCI and regularly has works played at Catholic University’s composition recitals and reading sessions.

Outside of music, Roc has served as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Los Angeles from August of 2007 to August of 2008.  He worked at Chrysalis, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping economically and socially disadvantaged individuals become self-sufficient through long-term employment. As an employment specialist, Roc engaged directly with clients in goal planning, managing stress, accountability, advocacy, presentation, computer literacy, interviewing skills, and resume preparation. His work in social service helped to inform his research interests on Music Education in Prisons.

Roc is currently working on his thesis, the Crossroad, a fully-staged opera in one-act to be presented in 2010, and a research paper on Music Education in Prisons, which he is preparing for publication later in 2009.