Calene Lee
Director

Calene Lee is a rising senior attending the Orange County School of the Arts as a part of the Creative Writing Conservatory. She is an avid multi-instrumentalist, writer, and mental health advocate.
Calene is currently serving her fourth year as Principal Harpist of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra. Calene placed first in the California American String Teachers Association State Competition, the Concordia Music Competition, and the American Protege International Concerto Competition. She was declared a finalist in the American Harp Society National Competition and the Hampton Roads Harp Festival Competition, in addition to being a semifinalist in the Music Center’s Spotlight Competition's Classical Instrumental division. Calene has attended harp summer programs like the Concordia Chamber Music Festival, the Young Artist’s Harp Seminar, and the Interlochen Arts Camp, with opportunities to learn from world-class harpists such as Nancy Allen, Joan Holland, and JoAnn Turovsky.
She is also a pianist, awarded Level 10 Advanced Certificate of Merit with Branch and State Honors in March of 2023. She is a six year National Winner in the National Piano Guild Association. Calene has won the Orange County Branch Festival twice, as well as the Southern California Junior Bach Festival Complete Works Auditions and the Musical Arts Competition of Orange County. She previously taught piano fundamentals to El Sol Science and Arts Academy elementary-schoolers.
Outside of harp and piano, Calene is a passionate writer. She is a recently published poet via Sixteen Rivers Press, additionally awarded several Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards silver and gold keys. Calene is involved in her Conservatory’s Community Arts Outreach program, in which she teaches creative writing skills to middle-schoolers attending the Orange County Educational Arts Academy. She helped write and cast her school’s local Classical Voice Libretto, later performed on campus. Calene is also Co-President of Generation Bridges and MindCare Network, the Outreach Coordinator of her school’s Mental Health Committee, and an active member of the California Scholarship Federation and National Honors Society. She assists in planning and running school-wide events promoting mental health awareness, and serves as a Teen Talk Advisory Committee Member and App Advisor on the organization’s text helpline app. Finally, she has been a Girl Scout for the past ten years, recently receiving the nationally recognized Girl Scout Gold Award for her work in decreasing mental health stigma. She was selected to be interviewed on mental health in the media by the Girl’s Life Magazine, and now serves as a guest panelist at national leadership events for Girl Scouts grades 6-12 pursuing leadership awards. In her spare time, she enjoys cuddling with her cat, laughing with her friends, and listening to her endless collections of playlists.