Alicia Lee

Clarinetist, Alicia Lee, enjoys a diverse musical life performing old and new works in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings. She is Assistant Professor of clarinet at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she also performs with the Wingra Wind Quintet. Prior to her appointment at UW, Alicia was a resident of New York City for over a decade where she performed and toured regularly with a variety of groups including The Knights, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, and NOVUS NY.

She is also a member of the composer/performer collective, NOW Ensemble with whom she has premiered dozens of new works written for the ensemble. She is a founding member of Decoda, the Affiliate Ensemble of Carnegie Hall. Founded on the principles established during their time as fellows in Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect program, Decoda’s pursuits place equal emphasis on artistry and community engagement. She also served for eight years as the Director of the Decoda Chamber Music Festival, one of ensemble’s flagship educational programs.

She has performed at the Lucerne, Spoleto (Italy and US), Yellow Barn, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Marlboro Festivals. Alicia was formerly the associate principal and E-flat clarinet player of the Santa Barbara Symphony and also spent one season as guest bass clarinetist of the Bergen Philharmonic in Norway.

She earned degrees from Columbia University, the University of Southern California, and The Colburn School. Born into a musical family, Alicia grew up in Michigan, where she began her early studies on violin and piano and eventually made the switch to clarinet by age 12. She currently resides in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband, bass player and composer, Kris Saebo, their son Jack, and Bonnie, the sheepadoodle.