Dr. Strawn earned the Doctorate and Master's Degrees from the internationally-renowned Eastman School of Music in New York. He was also awarded Performer's Certificates in both Voice and Opera from Eastman, where he studied voice with Jan DeGaetani and Thomas Paul. Lee was invited to study at the Aspen Music Festival where he worked with Hans Heins, Adele Addisson and Steve Bleir. Lee has also studied voice with Lynn Wickham and Daniel Balestrero.

Lee frequently performs leading roles in both opera and musical theatre. For many years, Lee sang the lead role of John Muir in MOUNTAIN DAYS - THE JOHN MUIR MUSICAL in Martinez, CA, near Muir's home. He also sings with the San Francisco Opera Chorus.

He created the role of LeFevre and went on to play Firmin, two of the Opera House owners for five years in the record-shattering run of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA in San Francisco.

Locally Lee performs with Pocket Opera, Diablo Light Opera, S.F. Shakespeare Festival, Sierra Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks and AMTSJ.

Other favorite roles include:
Papageno (Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE)
Sweeney Todd (SWEENEY TODD)
Cervantes/Don Quixote (MAN OF LA MANCHA)
Papa Charlie (SHENANDOAH)
The Reciter (PACIFIC OVERTURES)
The Vicar (ALBERT HERRING)
Capt. Corcoran (H.M.S. PINAFORE)
Virgil T (THE MOTHER OF US ALL)

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH In his continuing search to grow as a teacher and performer, Lee has studied:

• VOCAL PEDAGOGY: With master teachers Richard Miller and Lisa Popeil
• BODY ALIGNMENT: Yoga, Feldenkreis, Pilates, Alexander Technique
• SPEAKING VOICE: The Linklater Method
• IMPROVISATIONAL THEATRE: At The Second City, Chicago
• ACTING: With Linda Lowrey, Werner Klemperer, Martha Schlamme, Wesley Balk, Edward Berkeley, Herbert Foster

Lee has been a successful voice teacher for over 25 years. He has taught privately in New York and Chicago and now teaches in downtown San Francisco. He has also taught at the Aspen Music School in Colorado. For eleven years he was a tenured Associate Professor of Voice at Northern Illinois University, outside of Chicago. He is currently on the faculty of Notre Dame de Namour University in Belmont, California, and of the summer Theatre Training Institute.

 
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Lee is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Music Teacher's National Association, Actor's Equity Association and the American Guild of Musical Artists.