Charmaine Lee (b. 1991) is a Cantonese Australian vocalist based in New York. Using the voice, feedback, and live processing, Lee’s practice is primarily concerned with risk-taking, collaboration, and improvisation. Lee has performed in over 350 contexts ranging from large institutions such as the Lincoln Center to DIY basements around the world. She has been recognized as “extraordinary” by New Yorker, and has been featured in New York Times, Washington Post, and Wire Magazine. As a composer, Lee has been commissioned by leading new music and media enterprises including the International Contemporary Ensemble and HBO Max. Lee was an Artist-in-Residence at ISSUE Project Room (2019) and Van Lier Fellow at Roulette (2021). Her longstanding collaborators include: Conrad Tao (Forbes 30U30) and Ikue Mori (MacArthur Fellow). Lee is passionate about maximizing the surface area of boundary-breaking music and guest lectures frequently at high school, undergraduate, and graduate-level programs around the country. In 2023, she founded a record label & distribution platform, First Formants, dedicated to supporting pioneering artists in music & sound.

Alongside her music, Lee has championed various nonprofit causes at the intersection of talent, education, and the arts. She most recently was an Associate at Schmidt Futures working on the operations and strategy of Rise, one of the largest global youth talent programs in the world. Prior, Lee was a Development Manager at the Asian Cultural Council supporting artistic and scholarly exchange between Asia and the U.S. She currently serves on the Board of ISSUE Project Room and is a Special Gifts Chair on the National Annual Giving Committee at Princeton University.

Lee completed her B.A. from Princeton University (Sociology), and has a Masters in Music from the New England Conservatory.