In 1973, Lee won scholarships from the Rockefeller Foundation and the US State Department to go to the United States, where he studied in various universities and schools of music. Only then did his fellow countrymen begin to take note of his outstanding abilities.
一九七三年，李泰祥獲得美國洛克斐勒全額獎學金，及國務院交換計畫學者獎學金赴美，至各大學音樂學院及交響樂團觀摩研究，國人才開始注意到他在現代音樂上的優異表現。