Leon Ko
Encyclopedia
Leon Ko Sai Tseung is a composer
for musical theatre
and film
s. He won a Richard Rodgers Development Award, a Golden Horse Award and numerous musical awards. His mother, Lucilla You Min (尤敏), was a famous actress in post-war Hong Kong Mandarin cinema and won the 1st Annual Golden Horse Awards and two consecutive Asian Film Festivals for Best Actress. His grandfather, Bak Yuk Tong (白玉堂), was a famous Cantonese opera
artist and was known as one of the Four Super Stars (四大天王).
Ko received a Master’s degree in Musical Theatre Writing at New York University
's Tisch School of the Arts
. His musical Heading East, with book and lyrics by Robert Lee, won the 2001 Richard Rodgers Development Award and was restaged in New York in 2010 in the form of a concert presentation. His works were performed at Carnegie Hall
, as well as on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), where he wrote songs for the children series The Puzzle Place
.
Ko won Best Score for his four Cantonese musicals The Good Person of Szechwan (四川好人), The Legend of the White Snake (白蛇新傳), Field of Dreams (頂頭鎚) and The Passage Beyond (一屋寶貝) in the 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2010 Hong Kong Drama Awards. For the movie Perhaps Love (如果·愛), he received a Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Song, a CASH Golden Sail Music Award for Best Alternative Composition as well as a Hong Kong Film Award, an Asia-Pacific Film Festival Award and a Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Film Score. He was nominated for a Golden Horse Award and a Hong Kong Film Award in 2008 for the movie The Warlords
(投名狀).
He was the musical director of Hong Kong pop legend Jacky Cheung
’s 2004 musical revival world tour of Snow.Wolf.Lake
(雪狼湖). He worked with Jacky again on The Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour 07, penning a 30-minute musical for the concert. In 2006, he wrote a new opening song and incidental music for the classic Cantonese opera
Princess Changping
(帝女花) presented by Yam Kim Fai
& Pak Suet Sin Charitable Foundation (任白慈善基金) and performed by Chor Fung Ming Troupe (雛鳳鳴劇團). In 2009, he wrote an opening number and a mini-musical finale for Liza Wang
's musical Liza the Diva (真係阿姐─汪明荃).
Other works include the scores to the movie Mr. Cinema (老港正傳), the stage musical Angel Falls (夢傳說) for Hong Kong Dance, the stage play Cross-mopolitan (咖喱盆菜釀薯條) for Chung Ying Theatre, the transcultural music theatre The Liaisons (情話紫釵) for the 2010 Hong Kong Arts Festival
and Hong Kong's participation in Expo 2010 Shanghai and the stage adaptation of the movie Please Don't Eat the Daisies
for the New York stage. In June 2011, his first London musical Takeaway (also the first major British Chinese musical) premiered at Theatre Royal Stratford East
.
Ko also took part in a few public performances. In 2009, he orchestrated and performed a medley of five songs from the various musicals/play composed by him at the 2009 Hong Kong Drama Award for celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies. Later that year, he orchestrated and performed a medley of two songs (one of which was tailor-made for the poem Looking up at the Starry Sky (仰望星空) written by the PRC
Premier Wen Jiabao
) at the Cultural Show in Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China (香港同胞慶祝中華人民共和國成立六十週年文藝晚會) together with Jacky Cheung
, Yao Jue and Yang Peiyi
. In 2010 and 2011, he co-hosted The Shaw Prize
Award Presentation Ceremony with Dodo Cheng.
Apart from music, Ko held an antique perfume bottle exhibition entitled Time in a Bottle (尋香記) at IFC mall in 2010. To give the exhibition a theatrical context, he divided it into 13 "scenes" using his collection of perfume bottles to tell the story of a search for true love.
Ko is currently a council member of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
for musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s. He won a Richard Rodgers Development Award, a Golden Horse Award and numerous musical awards. His mother, Lucilla You Min (尤敏), was a famous actress in post-war Hong Kong Mandarin cinema and won the 1st Annual Golden Horse Awards and two consecutive Asian Film Festivals for Best Actress. His grandfather, Bak Yuk Tong (白玉堂), was a famous Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Cantonese culture. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia. Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing,...
artist and was known as one of the Four Super Stars (四大天王).
Ko received a Master’s degree in Musical Theatre Writing at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
. His musical Heading East, with book and lyrics by Robert Lee, won the 2001 Richard Rodgers Development Award and was restaged in New York in 2010 in the form of a concert presentation. His works were performed at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, as well as on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), where he wrote songs for the children series The Puzzle Place
The Puzzle Place
The Puzzle Place is an American children's television series produced by KCET in Los Angeles, California and Lancit Media in New York City, New York...
.
Ko won Best Score for his four Cantonese musicals The Good Person of Szechwan (四川好人), The Legend of the White Snake (白蛇新傳), Field of Dreams (頂頭鎚) and The Passage Beyond (一屋寶貝) in the 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2010 Hong Kong Drama Awards. For the movie Perhaps Love (如果·愛), he received a Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Song, a CASH Golden Sail Music Award for Best Alternative Composition as well as a Hong Kong Film Award, an Asia-Pacific Film Festival Award and a Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Film Score. He was nominated for a Golden Horse Award and a Hong Kong Film Award in 2008 for the movie The Warlords
The Warlords
The Warlords, previously known as The Blood Brothers, is a 2007 epic war film directed by Peter Chan and starring Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Xu Jinglei. The film was released on December 13, 2007 simultaneously in most of Asia, except Japan...
(投名狀).
He was the musical director of Hong Kong pop legend Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000....
’s 2004 musical revival world tour of Snow.Wolf.Lake
Snow.Wolf.Lake
Snow.Wolf.Lake is Hong Kong's first modern musical. Jacky Cheung, a cantopop artist, was the artistic director of the show. He also played the leading character of the musical. The show time of the whole musical lasts for about three hours. Snow. Wolf.Lake has two different versions; one in...
(雪狼湖). He worked with Jacky again on The Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour 07, penning a 30-minute musical for the concert. In 2006, he wrote a new opening song and incidental music for the classic Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Cantonese culture. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia. Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing,...
Princess Changping
Princess Changping
Princess Changping , birth name Zhu Meicuo , was a princess of the Chinese Ming Dynasty.-Biography:Changping was born to the Chongzhen Emperor and Consort Wang Shun. As Consort Wang died from illness not long after Changping's birth, the princess was raised by Empress Zhou...
(帝女花) presented by Yam Kim Fai
Yam Kim Fai
Yam Kim Fai , also known as Ren Jianhui was a renowned Cantonese opera actress in China and Hong Kong.She was most notable for her unique ability to sing in the lower register...
& Pak Suet Sin Charitable Foundation (任白慈善基金) and performed by Chor Fung Ming Troupe (雛鳳鳴劇團). In 2009, he wrote an opening number and a mini-musical finale for Liza Wang
Liza Wang
Elizabeth Wang Ming-chun, SBS, commonly known as Liza Wang, is an accomplished diva, actress and MC in Hong Kong. She is a well-known personality in Chinese-speaking communities. She has been nicknamed "The Big Sister" in the HK entertainment circle...
's musical Liza the Diva (真係阿姐─汪明荃).
Other works include the scores to the movie Mr. Cinema (老港正傳), the stage musical Angel Falls (夢傳說) for Hong Kong Dance, the stage play Cross-mopolitan (咖喱盆菜釀薯條) for Chung Ying Theatre, the transcultural music theatre The Liaisons (情話紫釵) for the 2010 Hong Kong Arts Festival
Hong Kong Arts Festival
Hong Kong Arts Festival , founded in 1973, is a focus programmes for the Culture of Hong Kong, in order to provides a wide range of art programmes from all over the world....
and Hong Kong's participation in Expo 2010 Shanghai and the stage adaptation of the movie Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Please Don't Eat the Daisies (film)
Please Don't Eat the Daisies is a comedy film starring Doris Day and David Niven, made by Euterpe Inc., and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
for the New York stage. In June 2011, his first London musical Takeaway (also the first major British Chinese musical) premiered at Theatre Royal Stratford East
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
.
Ko also took part in a few public performances. In 2009, he orchestrated and performed a medley of five songs from the various musicals/play composed by him at the 2009 Hong Kong Drama Award for celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies. Later that year, he orchestrated and performed a medley of two songs (one of which was tailor-made for the poem Looking up at the Starry Sky (仰望星空) written by the PRC
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
Premier Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...
) at the Cultural Show in Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China (香港同胞慶祝中華人民共和國成立六十週年文藝晚會) together with Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000....
, Yao Jue and Yang Peiyi
Yang Peiyi
Yang Peiyi is a Chinese child singer. She is well known for her performance of China's anthem, Ode to the Motherland , which she sang behind the scenes of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on August 8, 2008.-Biography:...
. In 2010 and 2011, he co-hosted The Shaw Prize
Shaw Prize
The Shaw Prize is an annual award first presented by the Shaw Prize Foundation in 2004. Established in 2002 in Hong Kong, it honours living "individuals, regardless of race, nationality and religious belief, who have achieved significant breakthrough in academic and scientific research or...
Award Presentation Ceremony with Dodo Cheng.
Apart from music, Ko held an antique perfume bottle exhibition entitled Time in a Bottle (尋香記) at IFC mall in 2010. To give the exhibition a theatrical context, he divided it into 13 "scenes" using his collection of perfume bottles to tell the story of a search for true love.
Ko is currently a council member of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.