A native of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Lee Beddis spent his youth with the Peterborough Krescendos, the Canadian Knights and the Dutch Boy Drum & Bugle Corps. He would later move south to join the ranks of the World Champion Garfield Cadets in order to become part of the now legendary "perfect" percussion line of 1987. After winning his second title in 1990, Lee aged out, swiftly moving into the role of instructor.
Lee's instructing experience began with the Madison Scouts, Star of Indiana and Phantom Regiment. It was there, in 1996, that Lee helped capture the World Title with his ambitious leadership and musical compositions for The Defiant Heart, an all-Shostakovich program. In 1997, he turned his skills to the rebuilding of the Toledo, Ohio Glassmen. Within a year, his expertise found immediate reward, moving the corps's percussion section into the forefront of world-class recognition. After the successful 2000 season, he moved to the Crossmen, where he remained until his appointment as Percussion Coordinator of the Madison Scouts. Lee's unique reputation as a program builder prepared him for the role of returning the 2005 and 2006 Madison line to elite status.
In 2007, Lee's unique reputation of building quality percussion programs with success in short periods of time fit in with Carolina Crown's desired level of success. Through five seasons with Carolina Crown, Lee's leadership and team brought the percussion program to within striking distance of being the best percussion section in the world while contributing to the overall success of the corps.
During his time with Carolina Crown, Lee took on the responsibilities of percussion arranging and consulting for the Crossmen in 2011. His leadership and strong advice led the Crossmen back into DCI Finals in 2012 for the first time since 2004, which was the last time Lee led the percussion caption for the corps.
After much evaluation, Lee decided to return to the Madison Scouts in 2012-2014, followed by the Cadets in 2015 and 2016. He recognized these moves as being a great challenge, and it proved to be successful in building and maintaining these percussion programs at elite status with both groups.
Lee's experience at all levels of instruction from tech, to caption head, arranger and percussion coordinator made him the perfect choice for assisting Tom Aungst with the Cadets in 2018 and beyond. Lee also maintains a role as a consultant with the Academy Drum & Bugle Corps, where he began in 2017.
In addition to drum corps experience, Lee is in demand throughout the United States and Canada as a highly-regarded judge for Winter Guard International. He started teaching and arranging for WGI groups in 1994 and moved into judging in 1999. Lee proudly endorses high-quality industry names such as Yamaha, Remo, Vic Firth and Zildjian while conducting marching percussion clinics across North America and beyond.
