Mary E. Lee

Mary E. Lee is the executive director of Cantus Vocal Ensemble. She is responsible for the programmatic and administrative activities that make the Cantus vision a reality. Previous to her work with Cantus, Mary spent 25 years in public radio management where she worked on and created new ways to create space on the radio and in new media for musicians and listeners to connect. She was project director for the NEA-funded Classical Music Initiative (CMI) and subsequently the one-time only convening of music presenters, administrators and media leaders, “Music and Media” in New York City in 2006. 

While at Minnesota Public Radio, Mary was executive producer of Saint Paul Sunday, a nationally-distributed program which brought musicians into the studios of MPR for a radio-only program of music and conversation. Her work on Saint Paul Sunday was recognized with a Peabody Award for excellence, a “Gracie” award from the American Women in Radio and Television, and the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award. Her other production work included programs such as “A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols,” Great Pianists of the 20th Century, the regional and national broadcasts of the World Choral Symposium, and the inaugural season of the Music@Menlo chamber music festival.  She received her second Peabody Award for her work on American Mavericks in 2005.

She has served on a wide variety of boards including Minnesota Center for Book Arts and the YWCA-St. Paul. In 2007, she was a participant in the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute. The College of St. Benedict awarded its first Alumnae Achievement Award to Mary in 1998.