Cheuk-Yan Vincent Leung

A cellist born in Hong Kong, Cheuk-Yan Vincent Leung has extensive experience performing in prestigious concert venues including the Hong Kong Cultural Center, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Orpheus Theatre in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. He also appears frequently in internationally renowned competitions. As a founding member of Trio Riva, he received Honorable Mention in the NOLA ChamberFest Graduate Division and was a finalist in the Coltman Chamber Music Competition Senior Division and the International Anton Rubinstein Chamber Music Competition.

Vincent started playing the cello when he was eight years old under his father’s influence. He was admitted into the Junior Music Program of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he also earned his Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours. Upon graduation, he furthered his study in the U.S. under the tutelage of renowned cellists including Gregory Sauer, Sharon Robinson, and Keith Robinson in addition to receiving guidance from artists including Johannes Moser, Paul Watkins, Colin Carr, Steven Isserlis, and the Emerson String Quartet.

During the course of his musical journey, Vincent has become enthusiastic about cello pedagogy. He is a graduate teaching assistant at the Florida State University, where he teaches undergraduate cello lessons and serves as a chamber music coach. Also, he is a certified Suzuki cello teacher (Books 1-10) and was a substitute teacher for the Cleveland Institute of Music Suzuki Program. Moreover, he has taught in educational outreach programs such as the Tallahassee Chamber Music Winter Camp and conducted workshops for pre-college musicians in schools such as the Thomasville High School and Cross Creek Elementary School in Thomasville, Georgia. Starting in Fall 2021, he is going to serve as the faculty member at the Center for Young Musicians in Pittsburgh, PA to work with cellists of different ages.

In addition to his teaching career, Vincent appears as a chamber musician in concert series including the University of South Florida’s Rutenberg Chamber Music Series and Thomasville Center for the Arts’ Music in the Woods Series. As a founding member of Trio Riva, he was invited to debut in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and tour across Brazil in May 2020. Additionally, he is a member of the Burgin String Quartet, the Quartet-in-Residence at the Florida State University. Such engagement has led to opportunities for collaboration with leading contemporary composers, including Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Lilian Ugay.