Lee Shanel

Hailed for his rich baritone vocals, Lee Shanel draws upon the profound influences of his studies, his Puerto Rican "Bohemian Latin-Romantica" heritage, the Classical Great Masters, and Retro-Jazz. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This Bohemian Latin-Romantic balladeer got his start performing at a young age, touring through houses of worship in the tropics. At the age of 12, Lee Shanel started strumming the guitar in his birth city of Ponce, Puerto Rico under the mentoring of Professor Rafael Moreno. However, it wasn’t until his secondary education when he realized that he wanted to embrace music. “Watching my high-school music teacher, Mrs. Olga Bernal, conduct a one hundred piece chorale through ‘The Hallelujah Chorus’ from Handel’s Messiah, stirred something and I knew music was my calling,” smiles Lee Shanel. The wide-ranging musical milieu of his youth instilled within him a passion for music ranging from church music to classical conducting. In addition to the rich and unique personal experiences, he draws inspiration from iconic musicians spanning multiple genres. He admires the golden baritone voice of gospel minister Wintley Phipps and finds himself immersed in one of the most important Puerto Rican composers of the 20th century, Rafael Hernández Mar�-n. Luther Vandross, Michael McDonald, Frank Sinatra, and Nat “King’ Cole have added additional impressions on his sound cultivating a diverse lineage of musical influence which he expanded through his collegiate study of music. “Lee Shanel's music is definitely in the 'snuggle up close and cuddle' category. Romantic doesn't even begin to describe the sound,” says Paul Moore of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.

Lee Shanel studied music performance at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico. There he was appointed the prestigious position of student conductor of the Inter-American University Concert Singers —- one of the most highly ranked college vocal ensemble in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Lee Shanel explains, “The experience was both an honor and a blessing. It allowed me to indulge in my love of performance, while in the practice rooms I was sharpening my grasp of musical theory.” During his collegiate years, he expanded his vocal and conducting abilities, gained proficiency in percussion and piano, and strengthened his mastery of guitar. He also expanded his diction repertoire to become proficient in not only English and his native language of Spanish, but also French, Portuguese, Italian, German and Latin. Since his time in academia, Lee Shanel has become an active member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International, the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP), and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists. “It is good to have in Nashville a singer like Lee Shanel: a charismatic Latin music performer that conquers the heart with the universal language of music,” says Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce CEO Yuri Cunza. Supporting his vocals with passion, this Puerto Rican performer channels his culture, and his musical training to connect with the hearts of audience members. Lee Shanel puts it this way, “The highest compliment an audience member has delivered after a performance is that I brought back an endeared memory with a particular song’s delivery. I am honored to know that I have accomplished transferring the inner most message of the song.”

It is obvious and evident how through his exquisite interpretation, the rich and intense baritone tonalities possessed by this so very talented singer and artist, complement and do definite justice to a varied number of well known Classic Jazz melodies and Bohemian-Romantic ballads. Show less