Cy Leo

 
 
 

 
何卓彥是半音階口琴家、作曲家和唱作人,六歳起得李尚澄先生啟蒙,及後得日本大師和谷泰扶先生指導,藉口琴展現的天賦令他登上多個國際音樂舞台,是來自香港一顆耀眼的新星。

他的父親何百昌是香港口琴協會和英皇口琴五重奏的創辦人,深受其父影響的他似乎從小就注定會成為一名口琴手,年僅十歲就於亞太口琴節獲得他第一個個人國際獎項,從此披荊斬棘,到十九歲已得到十七個國際獎項,其中兩次包括分別於2009年和2013年世界口琴節獲得半音階口琴獨奏青年及指定曲目組別的冠軍。

然而他不滿足於此,並決定要為其口琴生涯展開新一頁。他接受世界各地的邀請,搖身一變成為不同口琴節,包括首爾國際口琴節、亞太口琴節、瑞士口琴協會慶典音樂會、挪威口琴節的表演嘉賓、講師和評判。於2017年,他更獲邀為世界口琴節的半音階口琴獨奏的指定曲目作曲。

其實至2016年,卓彥畢業於理工大學後,便不斷把音樂帶到世界不同的角落。他多次獲得包括世鵬郵輪、大洋郵輪、皇家加勒比國際郵輪等7個國際郵輪的邀請作為專場獨奏者,至今已走埠40多個城市。此外,至2018年, 卓彥亦多次被香港政府邀請,代表香港到訪超過十個城市演出,其中包括哈薩克斯坦、曼谷、星加坡、倫敦和成都等等。2018年二月,他更獲邀與全球最大型音樂展覽NAMM Show 2018於美國加州演出。2022 年,他受邀請為紐約時代廣場跨年倒數演出作開場演出嘉賓,直播覆蓋全球,有超過十億人收看。

作為土生土長的香港人,何卓彥亦常出沒於香港主流音樂界,先後與多名知名藝人如林憶蓮、盧冠庭、李克勤、古巨基和古天樂等合作。其於2017年為由金城武主演的愛情喜劇《喜歡你》的錄音大受好評,盧冠庭更曾在其萬人紅館演唱會《Beyond Imagination》的台上稱讚何卓彥是「世界最好的口琴手」。

除了主流音樂,何卓彥也積極參與很多本土獨立音樂和音樂文化活動,包括兩個香港最大型的音樂節:第32屆香港藝術節和2016 Clockenflap。其古典音樂家、爵士音樂家和唱作人的身分令他在很多的香港音樂節得到注意,同時他獨特的故事也常常吸引到媒體的注意,報導於CCTV 1、TVB、明珠台、明報每日新聞,南華早報、香港經濟日報、都市日報和RMM Journal。這位戳熱的新星,也引起了不少商業品牌興趣與其合作,其中包括Krug、Bose、Etro、Initial Fashion、Shell 和幸福傷風素等。

近年,這位炙手可熱的口琴家,同時也開展了文化藝術上的個人事業,於2020年聯合創立了唱片公司末薑,致力推動本地原創純音樂發展。同時,自2018年起,他在兩年間成功以一系列的眾籌計劃,推出了兩張口琴專輯「追幻時空」和「天使與魔鬼」。而「追幻時空」的個人音樂會三場演出共吸引了過千觀眾,大受好評。隨後他在2020年亦獲得第14屆香港藝術發展局頒發的藝術新秀獎,表揚他在本地文化活動的成績。他在2021年,亦獲取香港賽馬會音樂及舞蹈信托基金的全數獎學金,遠赴紐約大學,完成了主修爵士音樂的碩士課程。

在2017年,何卓彥受邀於香港城市大學成立並指導口琴隊,志在宣揚、發展和提升香港口琴吹奏及演奏。他又經常以Perfect Fourth口琴四重奏隊員的身分現身社區文化發展計劃和大型政府活動,例如於國慶日的接待區演出。他現時是Music Lab的聯合藝術總監。


Cy Leo is a cross- genre chromatic harmonica virtuoso, composer, and singer song writer from Hong Kong. Received classical harmonica training from Lee Sheung Ching and Watani Yasuo, Leo’s talent in the harmonica has given him widespread international recognition and success.

Influenced by his father, PC Ho, founder of the Hong Kong Harmonica Association and the world-renowned King’s Harmonica Quintet, Leo became a consummate performer, winning his first international award as a harmonica soloist at the age of 10 at the Asia-Pacific Harmonica Festival. By the age of nineteen, he had accumulated 17 international titles including Solo World Champion twice at the World Harmonica Festivals of 2009 and 2013.

Since his appearance on the world harmonica scene, Leo has appeared as a guest performer and adjudicator at numerous internationally recognized harmonica events including The Seoul International Harmonica Festival and The Asia Pacific International Harmonica Festival. In addition, Leo was invited to compose for the Test Piece Solo Category in the World Harmonica Festival of 2017 where he also served as one of its adjudicators.

Since his graduation from the Polytechnic University in 2016, he has been touring frequently across the globe. Leo has toured in over 40 cities as a headline harmonica soloist on 7 international cruise lines including the prestigious Seabourn, Oceania and Royal Caribbean cruises. Since 2018, Leo has been invited by the Hong Kong government to perform as Hong Kong representative artist in over 10 cities including Kazakhstan, Bangkok, Singapore, London and ChengDu. In 2022, he performed at one of the world biggest stages, the New York Times Square Ball drop show broadcasted to billions of audience across the globe.

Closer to home, Leo has collaborated with many A-list local HK artists including Joey Yung, Sandy Lam, Lowell Lo, Hacken Lee, Leo Ku and Louis Koo, and has launched and continues to direct the Hong Kong City University harmonica team. Leo has also appeared at two of the biggest music festivals in Hong Kong, including the 32nd Hong Kong Arts Festival and Clockenflap 2016. Widely recognized as one of Hong Kong’s foremost musical talents, Leo’s has appeared frequently on regional media, including the CCTV 1, TVB, Pearl TV, Ming Pao Daily News, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Economic Journal, Metropop, and the RMM Journal. The rising star has also attracted unprecedented collaboration with commercials brands including Krug, Bose, Etro, Initial Fashion, Shell, Fortune Pharmacal etc.

Despite being widely recognised and favoured as a harmonica aficionado, Leo feels compelled to excel by starting his entrepreneurial voyage. He has co-founded an instrumental music label Ginger Muse to promote original instrumental music in Hong Kong. Within two years since 2018, Leo has released two albums including the ‘Lost In Time’ and ‘Angel & Demon’ with the support from a series of successful crowdfunding campaign. His debut performance ‘Lost In Time’ also received an overwhelmingly positive response from the local public, attaining a promising box that reached out to over a thousand paid audience members. He was later awarded as the Young Artists of the 14th Hong Kong Arts Development Awards in 2020. In the same year, Leo was also awarded a full scholarship from Hong Kong Jockey Club Music And Dance Fund to study at New York University master program of Jazz Performance.

Recently in 2020, Leo’s recordings attracted extensive recognition when one of them appeared at a single,’ Face to Face’, by the well-known Australian singer-songwriter Ruel. He also appeared at numerous movie including ‘This Is Not What I Expected’ starring Takeshi Kaneshiro , ‘Chasing the Dragon’ starring Donnie Yan etc. In Lowell Lo’s concert, ‘Beyond Imagination’ in 2017, at the Hong Kong Coliseum with over ten thousand concert-goers, Lowell acknowledged Leo on stage as ‘the best harmonica player in the world’. He is now the Co-Artistic Director of Music Lab.