Lief is currently the Principal Oboe of the the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. He has previously held principal oboe positions with the Saskatoon and Regina Symphony Orchestras.
 

Lief studied at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory Of Music with Richard Dorsey and Sarah Jeffrey prior to his positions in Saskatchewan. Since 2013, Lief has been an active freelancer in his native city of Toronto playing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, The National Ballet of Canada, Mirvish Productions, The National Arts Centre Orchestra and numerous other groups across the country and in the U.S.
 

He enjoys working with smaller chamber ensembles and has recorded and performed with the Smithsonian Chamber Players (Washington DC), his orchestral pop ensemble the Queer Songbook Orchestra and numerous indie rock bands as an oboist, violist and vocalist.