Lydia Leong

I'm an adult amateur violinist living in the Washington DC area. I enjoy orchestral playing, chamber music, and being a pit musician, in addition to working on the solo repertoire. I've done some professional freelancing, but I have a very demanding career in IT (where I generally go by @cloudpundit on social media), and thus now have to squeeze in music where I can.

I am currently the concertmaster of the Montgomery Philharmonic (a community orchestra in Gaithersburg, MD), and a solo performing member of the Friday Morning Music Club (FMMC).

I started playing at the age of 6 (after getting a Crackerjack box "violin" at 5), was trained very seriously, quit when I was 17, picked it up again nine years later, played for 4 more years, then quit again for nine years... and finally picked it back up once more in January 2013. My life just isn't really complete without music.

I started out doing Suzuki and then switched to conventional training after Book 6. I had the good fortune to study with many excellent teachers in my childhood. The ones you might recognize include Betty Haag, Lee Joiner, and the late Arnold Grossi (formerly of the Philadelphia Orchestra). When I returned to the violin as an adult (the first time), I studied with Claudia Bloom. Now I'm a student of Emil Chudnovsky.

I blog about the violin at Violin for the Love of It.

More background, videos, and concert info: My Violin Site

2022-2023 season concerts (in the works):

• September 10, 2022: Scottish National Fiddling Championships, Edinboro PA
• November 19, 2022: Beethoven, Piano Trio op. 97 "Archduke"; DCCM Lyceum
• February 12, 2023: Bach, Brandenburg concerto no. 4; Montgomery Philharmonic
• April 6, 2023: Coleridge-Taylor, Clarinet Quintet; FMMC Strathmore
• April 23, 2023 Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 1 in D major; DCCM Virginia
• June 17, 2023: William Grant Still, Suite for Violin and Piano; DCCM St. Thomas

2019-2020 season concerts:

• November 2nd, 2019: Dvorak, Piano Quintet; FMMC Greenspring
• January 5, 2020: Dvorak, Piano Quintet; FMMC Riderwood
• January 19, 2020: Mozart, Sinfonia Concertante; Montgomery Philharmonic
• March 21, 2020: Faure, Violin Sonata No. 1; DCCM Lyceum
• April 1, 2020: Rachmaninoff, Trio Elegaique No. 1; FMMC Ingleside
• April 2, 2020: Faure, Violin Sonata No. 1; FMMC Strathmore Mansion

2018-2019 season concerts:

• September 16th, 2018: Brahms, Clarinet Quintet; FMMC Lyceum series
• October 7th, 2018: Stravinsky, Pulcinella Suite; Montgomery Philharmonic
• November 1st, 2018: Strauss, Violin Sonata; FMMC Strathmore Mansion series
• December 15th, 2018: Brahms, Clarinet Quintet; Gaithersburg Library
• April 10th, 2019: Franck, Violin Sonata; FMMC Jordan Kitts series
• April 7th, 2019: Brahms, Clarinet Quintet; DC Chamber Musicians
• April 14th, 2019: Franck, Violin Sonata; Rock Creek chamber series
• April 27th, 2019: Franck, Violin Sonata; FMMC Greenspring series

2017-2018 season concerts:

• October 29th, 2017: Mozart, Clarinet Quintet; New Orchestra of Washington pre-concert
• November 11th, 2017: Tchaikovsky, Meditation; Bolcom, Graceful Ghost; Classical Revolution DC
• November 12th, 2017: Mozart, Clarinet Quintet; Loaves and Fishes benefit concert
• May 16th, 2018: Strauss, Violin Sonata; FMMC Jordan Kitts concert series

2016-2017 season concerts:

• September 10th, 2016: Schnittke, Suite in the Old Style; Montgomery County Chamber Music Society benefit concert
• October 14th, 2016: Schnittke, Suite in the Old Style; FMMC Cavalry Baptist Church concert series
• October 16th, 2016: Dvorak "American" Quartet; FMMC Lyceum (Alexandria History Museum) concert series
• February 2nd, 2017: Stravinsky, Suite Italienne; FMMC Strathmore Mansion concert series
• March 26th, 2017: Vaughan-Williams, Lark Ascending; with the Montgomery Philharmonic

Blog Posts

2014: Jan. Dec.

2013: Dec.