Kerson Leong
Kerson Leong has been described as “not just one of Canada’s greatest violinists but one of the greatest violinists, period” (Toronto Star). Forging a unique path since his First Prize win at the International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition in 2010, he continues to win over colleagues and audiences alike with “a mixture of spontaneity and mastery, elegance, fantasy, intensity that makes his sound recognizable from the first notes” (Le Monde).
His recent album for Alpha Classics featuring the six sonatas for solo violin by Eugène Ysaÿe was awarded the Diapason d’Or Découverte and the Choc de Classica, with Classica proclaiming him “more than a discovery, a veritable revelation” and Gramophone declaring that “his recording could be a happy first choice for any discerning listener.”
His 2023–2024 season includes solo performances with the Arkansas Symphony, Baton Rouge Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Regina Symphony, La Sinfonia de Lanaudiere, I Musici de Montreal, and Violons du Roy. Recent season highlights include a tour of Sweden with the Camerata Nordica, a recital tour of the Midwestern United States, and recording John Rutter’s Visions with the composer himself and the Aurora Chamber Orchestra, after giving its world premiere in London, U.K.
As a sought-after soloist, he was hand-picked by Yannick Nézet-Séguin to be his artist-in-residence with the Orchestre Métropolitain during the 2018–2019 season and has performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Wigmore Hall, the Auditorium du Louvre, and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. His latest album, featuring the Britten and Bruch violin concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Patrick Hahn for Alpha Classics, was released to widespread critical acclaim, including five-star recommendations from the Sunday Times and Diapason.
Kerson is an associate artist of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where he was mentored by Augustin Dumay. He performs on the ‘exBohrer, Baumgartner’ Guarneri del Gesu courtesy of Canimex Inc, Drummondville (Quebec), Canada.