One of the Best Kept Secrets of the Susquehanna Valley

TEXT BY STEVE BLAIR

“Candles light the hallways, tapers burning high, daylight is now ending and sunset touches the sky…”

This is a foretaste of the lyrics behind the music performed and invented by one member of the Lee family, perhaps one of the Susquehanna Valley’s best kept secrets.  The six children, ranging from eight years of age to 21, through years of dedication, driven by two parents that share a love for beautiful sounds, have evolved into a first class act known as “Seasons.”  They are heard throughout the Susquehanna Valley and around the world.

First let’s meet the Lees.  Mary-Kate Spring Lee, 21, has studied piano for 13 years, driven by the desire to avoid ballet lessons and an aspiration to make a joyful noise.  Mary Kate has studied piano under Noel Gevers and Jim Dunbar, and harp under Shawn Drain, Louis Lynch and Elizabeth Asmus, each accomplished in their respective disciplines. Mary-Kate was inspired by Brenda Lee, her mother and literally fell in love with the harp when she first touched this ageless and magnificent instrument.  The Hammered Dulcimer, a new challenge introduced to M-K by her father, Randy Lee.   Mary-Kate aspires to continue playing with “Seasons” and grow as a classical band.

It doesn’t stop here for Mary-Kate.  She loves writing, traveling, listening to, performing music and theatre.  Mary-Kate has received one of only four Gold Keys awarded for her writing portfolio in the National Scholastic Art and Writing Competition during her senior year as a homeschooler in Harrisburg.  Mary-Kate is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in English at Franciscan University of Steubenville.  This past fall semester, she took time off from her Franciscan to study for a semester at Oxford University.  While at Oxford, Mary-Kate worked on a dramatic script, while keeping her hand in the local music scene by playing in coffeehouses in London.  She even tried her hand as a street musician.  She is considering graduate school someday. Mary-Kate often appears at receptions and parties offering harp selections that are a perfect touch to any event.

Then there’s Peter Winter Lee, 19, an accomplished pianist of 11 years who also has studied under Noel Gevers and Jim Dunbar.  As Peter explains, “I’ve really benefited from having teachers who made it cool to be technically proficient at the instrument.”  Peter is also studying at Franciscan University and writes piano arrangements for a rock band that he plays with at Franciscan, featuring all original music.  That band recently won a battle of the bands competition on campus.  Eleven years of keyboard experience has provided Peter with something to take with him to the university where he studies English.

”Before taking lessons, I remember sitting at the piano and exploring it for long stretches of time and seeing how many keys I could push down at once.”  Peter’s inspiration was driven by his need to compete with sister, Mary-Kate, who was certainly a challenging act to follow.   Peter has studied the hammered dulcimer under Rebecca Askey of Mechanicsburg for six years.  Askey is one of the nation’s leading hammered dulcimer players.  Peter was inspired by his father, Randy Lee who is a fan of Rich Mullins.  Mullins is an accomplished hammered dulcimer player and a popular composer who made the hammered dulcimer the signature instrument of most of his work.  Peter has plans for a road trip across the United States upon graduation from college. His music, of course, will be a big part of the journey.

Mary-Teresa Summer Lee, 17, is an accomplished pianist of eight years and also studied under Noel Gevers and Jim Dunbar.  Mary-Teresa studied piano because she loved the sound and the feel of the instrument.  Mary-Teresa has played the harp for more than seven years and often plays at parties, nursing homes and church functions.  She has a natural love for the sound of the harp learned through hearing her mother play since she was very small.  Like her two preceding sisters, Mary-Teresa studied harp under Louis Lynch, founder of the Harrisburg Harp Orchestra.  Finally, Mary-Teresa plays the mandolin and quite beautifully after only a year and a half of lessons.  She plays the mandolin because it is the one instrument that she can lift.

Currently, Mary-Teresa’s focus is on the SATs.  She anticipates her interests in college may include nursing and early childhood development. Beyond that, her plans are fluid.  “I plan to go where God leads me.  Music and 'Seasons' will always remain at the core of who I am, no matter what I’m doing in five, ten or twenty years. Playing music with my brothers and sisters is such a blessing that I want to keep it with me forever.  I also hope to get Peter to pay me back for our last trip to Wendy’s!” 

Mary-Grace Autumn Lee, at 13 has studied piano for five years, also under Noel Gevers and Jim Dunbar. Inspired by Noel, Jim and her brothers and sisters, Mary-Grace has studied harp for three years under Louis Lynch and, recently, the hammered dulcimer under Rebecca Askey. Mary Grace is interested in studying and teaching business administration, but is committed to playing music forever. Go figure.

Mary-Clare Chun Lee is nine.  “Li Chun” was her original Chinese name and in her native tongue “Chun” translates to the season spring, and the Chinese reverse their first and last names.  Her native first name is “Li” only by coincidence if there is such a thing.  Mary-Clare has studied piano for three years under Jim Dunbar and the violin under Lynn Murphy.  She thought it only seemed natural, given what she saw her adopted family doing.  She sometimes accompanies Mary-Teresa on gigs.  “Chun” feels at home with the Lees and eventually plans to study the harp.

Luke-Joseph Winter Lee, 8, has been studying piano for nearly a year and has shown potential to become an accomplished pianist. “Everyone else in the house was playing the piano, and I didn’t want to feel left out!” Luke-Joseph also aspires to play drums. 

Brenda Catherine Lee, the mother of this amazing family is a casual pianist, harpist and guitarist with a genuine love for music.  Her only hope throughout her marriage to Greg “Randy” Lee of 23 years, which appears to have been quite fruitful, is that their children use their natural talents to bring joy to others.  Randy enjoys the great times the Lees experience as a family.  He hopes their kids continue to have opportunities to be creative, and play music in their Harrisburg suburban home. Randy is a professor of law at Weidner University in Harrisburg.  

The Lee’s first CD was called An Eventide Lullabye, -  a Yule Tide Offering featuring songs of the Christmas Season, and from this writer’s perspective as a six-year piano student, it is an impeccable work of art.  

CD Reviews for Eventide Lullabye – A Yule Tide Offering:

“This is the CD for mom to listen to as she grabs a moment to recover from a day of seasonal activity. . . . If you aren’t familiar with the haunting, harp-like beauty of the hammered dulcimer, here is a good place to start. . . .‘Seasons’ is a Catholic sibling act you don’t want to miss.”

Faith and Family Magazine

People You Can Contact about Seasons Music:

Pete Hamel, station manager and morning show host Fortress 1230 AM Radio may be contacted at 541-1230.  Their music is often featured in regular radio station programming and they frequently appear in the station’s coffeehouse.  

Among the many interesting facts about the Lee family is that each of the six siblings have a season as their middle name.  "Seasons" have received CD orders from England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Slovenia and Slovakia.  Their versatility is validated by renditions from Johnny Cash’s music to Coldplay; from Bach to the Beatles; and from Elvis Pressley to the music from the movie, Lord of the Rings.

"Season’s" performances include a reception for the Papal Nuncio (Pope’s ambassador to the United States) at the John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.  Mary-Kate played the harp at the Shrine of Saint Francis in Assisi, Italy.  They have been featured with the Harrisburg Harp Orchestra on numerous occasions including performances at the Forum in Harrisburg.  Their second CD, just out in late 2008, is an Irish CD and a reflection of what "Seasons" represents in terms of their heritage of The Emerald Aisle – a rendition of the American-Irish Culture.  

In November 2006, "Seasons" recorded their first CD, Eventide Lullabye an independent Christmas project.  When Randy, their father, ordered 2,500 copies, the whole family thought he had taken leave of his senses.  They sent the CD to a few local radio stations, never expecting to have it played and didn’t give it much thought.  There was no plan for marketing or promoting the CD, and Brenda’s fear that the boxes filled with these CDs would never leave their basement led to their being used as basement shelves for storage.  Within a week of sending the CDs to a few radio stations, they received a call from Pete Hamel, the morning DJ and station manager at Fortress 1230 AM Radio.  The station was playing their CD and people were calling to find out who they were and how they could get their hands on Eventide Lullabye.

There are now 2,500 copies of the Christmas CD in print and their second CD, Which Way to Dublin Town, will be released in 2009.  The Lee’s are truly an amazing family. Their potential contribution to the local and world classical music arena, though immeasurable at this point in time, is clearly phenomenal.

Mary-Teresa, Mary-Kate and Peter Lee wanted to share with our readers how they do what they do.  Whether you are an accomplished musician, novice or perhaps a listener, the process “Seasons” has developed seems to work well for them and is interesting.

ARRANGING SONGS:

We pick a song we like to play together and we play it.  Typically we get a general idea of who will play melody, who will do chords and who will play the introduction.  Then we just “jam.”  We record nearly everything we play so we’re able to hear from the recordings what worked and what didn’t. 

On the Which Way to Dublin Town collection, we made a conscious effort to give every instrument a purpose and a voice for each track.  We have been inspired by bands like Nickel Creek and the Punch Brothers, who possess this classical mentality that goes beyond strumming a song on a guitar.  There are parts that must be learned and played note for note to get the full effect of the piece.  That level of complexity and musicality was our goal for this album. 

Sometimes we work all together coming up with parts for each other and ourselves as we did on the eight minute title track of Which Way to Dublin Town. In other instances when running into a wall, we split up and came up with parts separately as in Red Is the Rose, where Peter wrote his part on the piano and then learned it on dulcimer for the same album.  Although the process can vary, the three of us, Mary-Teresa, Mary-Kate and Peter, make a conscious effort to work closely together, sometimes writing collaboratively entire sections and hooks on the songs that one of us liked and wanted to include.

The result is that everything we do as a group and for publication is complexly collaborative with each instrument playing an essential part of the complete work.  That’s not just where we are as a band, but who we are as a family.  When you have a 20-year friendship with someone, as we do, you hear not only what you are playing, but what you are saying.  We hope this transcends to our listeners as it did from those that inspired our work.  We naturally enjoy and love creating and working together as a band and a family.

ON SONGWRITING:

For most of our original songs, one of us comes up with a basic idea for the song, lyrics and chords.  Then we work together to “flesh it out,” or bring it to life with parts and riffs.  On our new album, we had some songs that Mary-Kate wrote while studying in Europe.  Some were songs from her repertoire from performing solo on voice and harp, and others she had held in her heart for up to two years.  When Mary-Kate would present them to us, the three of us would sit down together.  Sometimes we polished up the lyrics or figure out what parts of the song would work best and where.  Mostly it was arranging the music in a way that would best compliment the instruments involved.  Peter has been notorious for converting Mary-Kate’s bridges into choruses and her choruses into bridges. 

Harrisburg Magazine celebrates the Lee family and “Seasons.”  The conviction to excellence and discipline that is apparent mirrors the sacrifices this family makes in terms of their time and their choices of activities.  Family values based on a faith learned from two people with a dream to share joyful noises with the Susquehanna Valley and the world, their parents Brenda and Randy Lee is most refreshing.  Kudos to each and all. HBG