Q&A: Dana Leong, jazz cellist
Dana Leong talks about social media, a life dedicated to music and collaborating with a hip-hop computer
Two-time Grammy-winning electro-jazz cellist Dana Leong was in town to perform at the Save the Children gala dinner on November 28. He spoke to us about his upbringing, mixing music genres and his bright orange cello.
It wasn’t the first time you’ve performed in Hong Kong. How do you feel coming back?
The last time I was here was to premiere a piece that I created called The Sound of Folk Tales. I played it at the Sha Tin Town Hall for the New Vision Festival in 2012. I love Hong Kong: it’s such an amazing, vibrant place that also has an energy from the earth. You can feel it from the rolling mountains and the beautiful water. I was very surprised at how fast it’s grown. Coming in from the airport I was like "wow, this is very impressive", how fast it’s growing, how many new buildings and businesses. It’s very surprising.
What brought you back?
I performed to support the Save the Children organisation. I believe in performing and making music for causes that help humanity and improve the well-being of the mind and the body. And I believe in appearing and supporting organisations that are true to causes I believe in. I played a mixture of my own music which is a mixture of exciting electronica and classical music.
