Guitarist Shares Art, Inspiration With Students By Seth Huey, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Monday, November 15, 2004

"Hard work, plus education, minus drugs equals success." That was the main point Christian Thomas Lee got across to the Christ the King High School during his visit last month. Lee, an accomplished classical guitarist, visited the school to display two forms of art: visual and musical. The story, however, is how he came to display them. As a young man, Lee practiced his guitar every day for hours on end to accomplish his dream of being a world-renowned classical guitarist. Because of his hard work and perseverance, his long-chased dream is a reality. The subject of his passion is now his mission. On one occasion, he received no less than $25,000 for one concert. With the money he earned by being a classical guitarist, he buys famous works of art. His collection is extensive, including original works by Picasso and Faberge. The Faberge piece is an ornate spoon made for the czar of Russia, who used it once to stir his iced tea, then never used it again. Other memorable pieces included a miniscule cello in a tiny case and paintings of Christ, including "The Raising of Lazarus" and "Giving the Keys of Heaven to Peter." Lee allowed students at Christ the King to hold some items, including the original "Christ on the Mount of Olives." Lee explained the various art forms of the paintings, including cubism, in which you could see more than one perspective at once, and impressionism, in which the farther you are from the painting, the clearer it becomes. If he hadn't bought these works of art, they would be in a museum, behind glass, available only to those living close enough to attend. However, Lee hasn't always shown his art. It all started when he performed in Australia. After the concert, the principal of a local school came up and asked him to come to the school. Lee would have declined, had it not been that the prime minister of Australia was standing right next to him, so Lee reluctantly accepted. When he performed, the children were rude and ungrateful. He finally left, very disappointed. He believed that one person couldn't make a difference. When he returned home, he found a letter from a student who attended the school he had performed at in Australia. The letter inside thanked him for coming, saying that Lee changed the student's life for the better. After that letter, he was inspired to continue performing and displaying art at schools, and he has been doing so ever since. He has gone to hundreds of schools and shown his distinctive art to thousands of children, teenagers and adults, sharing passion and history with them all.