First Parish Truro is excited to announce our collaboration with Jeongweon “John” Lee, our new church musician beginning in the Summer 2023 season. As a multifaceted musician who plays all varieties of keyboard instruments & repertoire, John Lee has distinguished himself as an organist who is dedicated to bringing healing to people through music. He encountered the pipe organ while living with his family in Switzerland in 2007. Originally from South Korea, in his adolescence John’s music was inspired by his multicultural experiences in Europe. John began playing classical piano at the age of nine, and continued studies for ten years before coming to the U.S. to study contemporary music – jazz, funk, latin, and gospel – at Berklee College of Music. Since then, he has served as a church musician for over five years in the Boston area, crossing over and blending between musical genres. He considers it a gift to have been able to serve faith communities through composing and arranging music, and his music has likewise been a gift to those communities. John is coming to us most recently from positions at North Congregational Church and First Congregational Church of Reading, MA.
During his studies at Berklee College of Music, John established himself as an improviser, exploring expanded musical languages as a jazz performance major. In his senior year of college, he established a YouTube channel to connect with people via media, while developing his improvisation to include the historical music area. His exploration of musical styles has continued to expand alongside his mastery of organ repertoire. During his Master of Sacred Music program at the Boston University School of Theology, John studied with organ professor Peter Sykes. His main focus was organ repertoire, focusing on Baroque, Romantic, and 19th to 20th century organ composers’ works.
John is also fascinated by theological studies and how they impact the spirituality of his musicianship. John was awarded a full scholarship to graduate from his seminary sacred music program, in addition to being selected as a graduate assistant for the seminary choir while there. In this role, he trained in a variety of musical teaching skills, from conducting the choir to coordinating music.
In addition to playing each Sunday morning at 10am for our summer worship services (June 18-July 17, 2023), John will be playing a concert of piano and organ selections on Sunday, July 30th, at 5pm at First Parish. While the concert is free, an offering will be taken to support the ministries of the church. We hope to see you there!