Weston Native & Cellist Leland Ko to Perform at Symphony Hall on May 1

Cellist Leland Ko, who grew up in Weston, will take center stage for Walton’s Cello Concerto at the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra's (BPYO) closing concert at Symphony Hall in Boston on Thursday, May 1, at 8:00 PM, under the direction of conductor Benjamin Zander. This remarkable work, which premiered at Symphony Hall 67 years ago with legendary cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, will be brought to life by Ko, a former BPYO member, who astonishingly held the principal cello position in the orchestra at the early age of 14.

Ko is a rising star in the classical world having recently garnered international acclaim for winning first prize at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra’s International Competition and co-winning the 2024 Walter W. Naumburg International Cello Competition.

Violinist Itzhak Perlman has described Leland as someone who “[...] plays with the beauty of sound and subtlety that we don’t often encounter in a cellist of his age...[someone who is] a musician who willingly considers all aspects of music.” In addition to the two previously mentioned competition he is a also laureate of the Bader and Overton Canadian Cello Competition, the Windsor Festival International String Competition, and the Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank auditions, as well as a first prize winner of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition, the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition, and the Hong Kong Generation Next Arts International Music Competition.

He 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 graduated with an A.B. in German Literature from Princeton Univesity. He went on to complete an M.M. at The Juilliard School and then earned an Artist Diploma from the New England
Conservatory under guidance of Laurence Lesser, Yeesun Kim, and Donald Weilerstein.

For tickets to the May 1st concert, visit www.bostonphil.org or call 617-236-0999. Student tickets are just $12 with code STU-DIS.