My Story Official Bio
A native of Hong Kong and based in Boston, Leona Cheung is a collaborative pianist whose international performances across the United States, Canada, Europe, China, and Hong Kong, have been praised as "artistically mature, well thought-out presentations" (Definitely the Opera).
An expert in the vocal repertoire from art songs to opera, she is especially known for her musical leadership and responsiveness while collaborating with singers and conductors. She has collaborated with more than 100 conductors, some of whom are recognized as GRAMMY® Award-winning, in concert performances, album recordings, rehearsals, and conducting masterclasses. Her first professional work as a Choral Pianist began with a collaboration with Helmuth Rilling, a renowned German conductor specializing in the music of J.S. Bach, through Hong Kong SingFest in multiple choral-orchestral projects. Leona was a founding member and staff pianist of Cantoria Hong Kong, with whom she went on concert tours in the United Kingdom, Taiwan, and China. She can also be heard on the Chinese choral music album Half Moon Rising, presented by Edition Peters. Her collaborators also include musicians from Handel and Haydn Society, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Seraphic Fire, Boston Children’s Chorus, Emmanuel Music, MIT Women's Chorale. She serves as staff pianist with New England Conservatory and Boston Conservatory. Since 2023, she has served as a choral pianist for the Massachusetts All-State Choir, performing at Boston Symphony Hall. The choir consists of more than 200 talented singers selected from schools across the state each year.
Leona is a passionate advocate for Art Song and has a strong interest in curating engaging and thought-provoking recital programs. In 2024, she was awarded the Graham Johnson Art Song XXI Prize, an award named after one of the most respected pianists and Art Song scholars of our time, for which she presented "Archetypes & Stereotypes", a recital curated and narrated by Graham Johnson. Other accolades include an Honorable Mention in the American Prize in Chamber Music Performance (2024) for her collaboration with soprano Cara Bender on Gustav Mahler's Rückert-Lieder and being a semi-finalist in the Federation of Art Song Fellowship Award (2023). Leona is also committed to championing new works, having premiered art songs by living composers at Sparks & Wiry Cries SongSLAM in New York City in 2024 and 2025.
Leona also shares her expertise by teaching a collaborative piano masterclass on German Lieder and French mélodie for the NATS Hong Kong Chapter at The Education University of Hong Kong in 2024. Her passion for song repertoire began with her participation in the Liederabend series at the New England Conservatory, which ignited a dedication to the art form that has led her to perform at prestigious international festivals, including the Oxford International Song Festival, Leeds Lieder Festival, Toronto Summer Music, the Franz Schubert Institut, and SongFest. These experiences have allowed her to collaborate with esteemed artists and scholars across the United States and Europe, including participation in masterclasses with Thomas Hampson, Roger Vignoles, Julius Drake, Helmuth Deutsch, Wolfram Rieger, Christoph Prégardien, and Véronique Gens, to name a few.
Leona believes music is a platform for sharing joy. As a fellow of NEC Community Performances and Partnerships program, she enjoyed many outreach performances within the community. In 2020, she was the recipient of the Opportunity Fund Award from the City of Boston, which generously supported her valuable community work in the Boston area.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Leona earned her Master of Music and Graduate Diploma in Collaborative Piano from New England Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Hong Kong Baptist University.
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Bio in Chinese 中文介紹