Leland Ko

Biography supplied for the 2024 competition.

Leland Philip Ko (b. 1998), a cellist of Chinese-Canadian descent, is the kind of person who's always had an overflow of energy. His restlessness has led him to various callings, from competitive tennis and distance running to calligraphy and origami, but so far he’s found that making music with and for others – and the process that goes into that – are the things that best focus his mind, and that this restlessness is what gives him an almost stubborn desire to experience something with his audiences and colleagues every time he walks out on stage. Though he has chosen to dedicate himself to classical music, he does his best to remember and live by a former mentor’s advice that music is about life, not the other way around.

Leland was born and raised in the Boston area, where he studied with Kirstin Peltz, Ronald Lowry, and Paul Katz. He earned a B.A. from Princeton University in German literature, before attending The Juilliard School for his M.M., studying with Minhye Clara Kim, Timothy Eddy, and Natasha Brofsky, and then returning to Boston to complete an A.D. at the New England Conservatory with Yeesun Kim and Donald Weilerstein.

Leland resides in the city with his 12-year-old cat, Ham.