In the 5th grade, Najee Greenlee wanted to get out of playing basketball, so he chose band for an afterschool activity. When he had trouble deciding what instrument to play, his band teacher handed him a clarinet. Now, at age 21, Greenlee is a Performance Today Young Artist in Residence.
Since that defining moment in the 5th grade, Greenlee has gone on to win a $30,000 scholarship to attend the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan. He appeared on National Public Radio’s From the Top in 2021, and in 2023, he was a recipient of a fellowship from the Aspen Music Festival and School. More recently, Greenlee was the winner of the Shepherd School of Music’s concerto competition and performed with the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra under the baton of six-time Grammy Award-winning music director of the Nashville Symphony Giancarlo Guerrero.
In the Fall of 2024, Greenlee will enter his third year of study at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University with Richie Hawley.
Najee Greenlee appears here in these recordings with pianist Beilin Han.
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