Percussion
New Orleans Louisiana
Mendel Lee is a New Orleans-based composer whose career oscillates between composition, artistic entrepreneurship, and music education in the pageantry arts. He is currently the Founding Executive Director of nienteForte Contemporary Music, a member of the Rhythm X, Inc. Board of Directors, a composer and performer with Versipel New Music, and a former Assistant Director of Tulane Bands. Mendel has earned recognition as a VCCA Fellow and a National Performance Network (NPN) Take Notice Fund grantee. His work has been featured nationally and internationally, most recently with the World Expo 2020 Dubai, New Music on the Bayou, the Indiana State University Contemporary Music Festival, and the National Performance Network Annual Conference Artist Showcase. His music has been described as “finding the right balance between minimalist… [static] space and forward motion and trajectory” and as a “…virtuosic tour de force…[whose] attention to melodic and lyrical content and the creative use of glissandi result in a unique addition to the repertoire."
Mendel's music explores both the evolution of singular ideas over a long period of time and layered syncopated rhythmic patterns and hemiolas over an underlying groove, earning praise as “finding the right balance between minimalist… [static] space and forward motion and trajectory.” He is committed to using his creative practice and entrepreneurial spirit to strengthen collaboration between composers, performers, and audience to show that new music can be for everyone.