Leland Ko, Cello

Leland Ko, a cellist of ChineseCanadian descent, is taking the world by storm, winning the First Prizes at numerous prestigious cello competitions: 2024-Naumburg International Cello Competition; 2023- Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) Competition, along with the J.S. Bach Special Prize and the Orchestra of the Americas Prize. That same year, he was selected to be a Young Artist in Residence for American Public Media’s Performance Today.As two of Ko’s professors described Brahms’ E minor and Kabalevsky’s Bb major cello sonatas, each as a unique sort of solitary dance, the imagery forged a theme. Coupled with some shorter works filled with dreams, mirages, fairy tales and romances, the program to be presented here, The Dance That Never Was, grew its inspiration.