Lei Ray Yu
Conductor | Educator | Liturgical Musician
Dr. Yu is an active conductor, church musician, and choral educator.
As a Conductor, she has led choral and instrumental ensembles of all ages and skill levels in both the United States as well as China. She had held the posts as the Music Director and Conductor of the Constellation Children's Chorus in Belmont, MA, the conductor of Boston University Women's Chorus and Collegiate Chorale, the Boulder Chorale, the Schola Cantorum of Kansas City, MO, Beijing University Chorus, and Star of Hope Children's Performing Troupe in Bejing, China.
As an educator, Dr. Yu believes in meeting the students at their own starting point, and "lead them by hand" in discovering their own potential as well as the path on which they may achieve their dreams. She is currently teaching at both the Cathedral School of St. Jude and Guardian Angel Catholic School, helping students, ranging from 3yrs-old to 8th grade, becoming the best version of themselves through music-making. She had taught at Worcester State University, Boston University, Assumption College, and Beijing University. She also travels to China yearly, holding symposiums and masterclasses for Chinese choral conductors. Her symposium "the Complete Conductor", held in 2018 at China South Normal University was hailed as the "most comprehensive curriculum for choral educators".
As a Liturgical Musician, Ray had developed many musical programs in Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran Churches. While serving as the Director of Sacred Music for Cathedral of St. Paul in Worcester, MA, she founded the children's choir and the summer choir camp. She collaborated with the directors of the Children's program and the Youth program at Atonement Lutheran Church and designed a Lenten course that utilized bible readings and music in preparation for Easter Vigil service that fully engaged young people. She also travels to China and teaches "Liturgy and Music" courses in Chinese seminaries.
Dr. Yu serves as a bridge between the Chinese and Western choral music worlds. She began her formal training in the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China where she studied with professors Zheng, Xiao-Ying, and Ma, Ge-Shun. She received her D. M. A. degree in Choral Conducting from Boston University where she studied the art of conducting with Ann Howard Jones, David Hoose, and Craig Smith. Her mentors also include Joan Conlon, Eph Ehly, Joseph Flummerfelt, Gary Hill, and Tom Lee.