Canadian violinist
Kerson Leong
Born (1997-02-26 ) 26 February 1997 (age 27) Ottawa, Canada
Nationality Canadian Occupation Classical Violinist
Kerson Leong (born 26 February 1997) is a
Canadian
violinist . He has been described by
Jonathan Crow , the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
concertmaster , as “not just one of
Canada’s greatest violinists but 'one of the greatest violinists, period.'”
[1]
Life and career
Leong was born in
Ottawa , Canada to a
pianist mother and
physicist father. He began to play the
violin at age four, first receiving instruction from former
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
concertmaster Calvin Sieb.
[2] He soon went on to win the Grand Prize at the nationwide Canadian Music Competition for five consecutive years (2005-2009), each time receiving the highest score of any instrument or age category.
[3]
[4]
In 2010, Leong won a First Prize at the
Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists, which led to his first
European debuts and the start of his solo performing career.
[5] He was subsequently invited to perform at the
Kavli Prize ceremony in the presence of
King Harald V of Norway later that year.
[6]
In 2012, Leong appeared as soloist with the
Vienna Chamber Orchestra performing
Mozart
Violin Concerto No. 4 in a special concert held at the
Quirinal Palace in
Rome ,
Italy .
[7]
In 2014, Leong won the Grand Prize at the Canadian Stepping Stone Competition
[8] and was also named Classical Revelation for the season by CBC Radio-Canada.
[3]
[4]
In 2016, Leong gave the world premiere of Visions, a piece by English
composer
John Rutter written especially for him to perform at the
Temple Church in celebration of
Yehudi Menuhin ’s
centenary . He was subsequently invited by Rutter to record the piece with him and the
Aurora Orchestra the following summer and went on to premiere it in
Australia ,
Hong Kong , the
St. Paul’s Cathedral in
London , and
Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
In 2018, Leong was invited by
Yannick Nezet-Seguin to be
artist-in-residence
[16] of the
Orchestre Métropolitain for the season. He was also among a select group of artists who performed at the
44th G7 summit held in
Charlevoix ,
Quebec , Canada.
[17]
[18]
In 2019, Leong gave a special performance at the
Arvo Pärt Centre in
Estonia as part of the Canadian delegation accompanying the
Governor General of Canada to
Lithuania and Estonia.
[19]
Leong was artist-in-residence from 2015 to 2019 at the
Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel , where he was
mentored by
Augustin Dumay .
[20] Prior to that, he was also mentored by
Jonathan Crow
[21] and Laurence Kayaleh, and also worked with Patinka Kopec through his participation in the
National Arts Centre Young Artist Program.
[4] Leong’s approach to
violin technique and music making is also influenced by physics concepts his father taught him related to
string resonances in
bowed instruments .
[22]
[23]
[24]
He shares many of his ideas through the “Art of Etude” series on his
YouTube channel. As a
pedagogue , he has been invited to teach or give
masterclasses at the
Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music , the
Sibelius Academy ,
Orchestre de la Francophonie ,
Le Domaine Forget de
Charlevoix , the
University of Ottawa ,
Dalhousie University , and
Memorial University of Newfoundland .
[23]
[25]
[26]
Leong currently plays the 1741 ex-Bohrer
Guarneri del Gesu violin on loan from Canimex, Inc.
[15]
[24]
Discography
Bis, Analekta (2016)
John Rutter: Visions & Requiem with John Rutter, Aurora Orchestra, Temple Church Boys’ Choir, Collegium Records (2016)
Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Alpha Classics (2021). Diapason d’Or Découverte, Choc de Classica.
Britten Bruch Violin Concertos, with
Philharmonia Orchestra and
Patrick Hahn , Alpha Classics (2023).
References
^
"Opinion | Toronto Summer Music is going virtual again this year, but the concerts will be as real as the musicians can make them" . The Toronto Star . 2021-07-02.
ISSN
0319-0781 . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"Calvin Sieb" . www.siegelproductions.ca . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
a
b
"Trouvez tous les contenus d'ICI Musique | Radio-Canada" . ici.radio-canada.ca (in French). Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
a
b
c ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Arts- (22 May 2014).
"Les nouveaux visages des Révélations Radio-Canada pour 2014-2015" . Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"Prizewinners since 1983" . Menuhin Competition . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"2010 Kavli Prize Ceremony" . www.kavliprize.org . 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"Portale storico della Presidenza della Repubblica" . archivio.quirinale.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"Tremlin 2014" (PDF) . CMC National . 30 May 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2022 .
^
" 'I Regard Myself as a Song Writer First' - An Interview with John Rutter" . www.rpo.co.uk . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"At Home and Abroad with Composer John Rutter" . my/maSCENA . 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^ Robb, Peter.
"Music and Beyond: John Rutter has a vision of music for Ottawa's Kerson Leong – ARTSFILE" . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"New England Symphonic Ensemble" . www.carnegiehall.org . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"Look at the World with John Rutter – Hong Kong Youth Choir" . 22 May 2017. Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"Interpreting a new work by John Rutter" . OUPblog . 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
a
b Chandler, Justin (10 March 2019).
"6 things to know about violinist Kerson Leong" . CBC . Retrieved 4 January 2022 .
^
"Kerson Leong" . Orchestre Metropolitain . 3 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^ Côté, Sophie (10 June 2018).
"Sommet du G7: une expérience surréaliste pour des artistes de chez nous" . Le Journal de Québec . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"LA MALBAIE , QC - JUNE 08 & 09: Leaders of the G7 gather around the fire pit at the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada on Friday, June 8, 2018, to enjoy Kerson Leong, an internationally recognized solo violinist and currently an artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. . People: President Donald Trump Credit: Storms Media Group/Alamy Live News Stock Photo - Alamy" . www.alamy.com . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"Concert in honour of Governor General of Canada Julie Payette – Arvo Pärt Centre" . www.arvopart.ee . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^ Robb, Peter.
"Catching up with Kerson Leong: Studying abroad is bringing new meaning to his musical career – ARTSFILE" . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^ Routledge. (2017-07-08).
"INTERVIEW | Jonathan Crow, The Face Of Toronto Summer Music" . Ludwig van Toronto . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"Making Menuhin" . NPR . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
a
b
"Let the Strings Go Free: The Lyricism and Physics of Violinist Kerson Leong" . VPM.org . 26 May 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
a
b
"Kerson Leong chez Bach : haute virtuosité, intensité, passion, physique du son" . PAN M 360 (in French). Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^
"Masterclasses – Orchestre de la francophonie" . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
^ Charlevoix, Le Domaine Forget de.
"Music and Dance Academy faculty artists | Domaine Forget" . Le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix . Retrieved 2022-01-04 .
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