Grand ambitions

By Margaret Jetelina

Sitting at the grand piano that dominates his tiny Vancouver loft, Darren Lee caresses the ivories with intensity as he plays from his current repertoire of Romantic pieces by Ravel, Albéniz and Rachmaninoff. As the last note lingers, the former KPMG tax manager smiles. “Music keeps me sane,” he says. “There are so many emotions music expresses that you can’t express in words.”

Lately, you can find Lee playing these works day and night — just ask his downstairs neighbours — as he prepares for small-venue recitals across Canada and international amateur competitions.

His next competition is the Boston International Piano Competition for Exceptional Amateurs in June, which includes about 40 international pianists. Then he’ll try out for the prestigious Les grands amateurs de piano in Paris in 2006, featuring about 90 competitors from 20 countries. Both offer cash prizes and recital opportunities.

“I am at the start of building my international piano competition ‘career,’” explains the 30-year-old. Lee had been a finalist in the annual Canadian Music Competition in the 1990s, but put his music ambitions on hold until he had something to fall back on — a solid accounting career.

Music is, after all, a tough business in which many talented people don’t make it, says Lee. “It’s a question of supply and demand. There’s not enough demand.”

Leave it to an accountant to sum up music with an economic principle. “I didn’t want to be forced to teach piano to put food on the table,” he adds.

So Lee established himself in business before taking that risky leap into music. In October, he left his full-time position at KPMG to focus on piano and now consults part-time, teaches UFE prep classes and writes CFA and CPA study materials.

As for the perceived disconnect between music and accounting, the two actually have much in common, says Lee. “A significant part of music-making is analytical and a small percentage is true artistry. Many technical details are worked out in the same thorough manner as in accounting.”                                 .