Jocelyn Chang, a Cleveland harpist who was a major contributor to new music here and around the world, died of complications of cancer November 19, 2010. She was 59. The Cleveland Heights resident was a founding member and principal harpist of the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Grammy Award-winning professional ensemble devoted to music by 20th-century and living composers.
A tireless advocate for new music, Chang helped commission dozens of works and performed these scores -- many expressly for the harp -- in Cleveland and at national festivals and conferences. She held workshops on improvisation throughout the United States and Europe, as well as in China.
Chang was also an admired teacher. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and Cleveland State University, she taught at CSU, Baldwin-Wallace College's Conservatory of Music, Kent State University, Cuyahoga Community College, the Music Settlement and Beck Center for the Arts. Chang championed a revolutionary invention, the Dilling harp, for which she commissioned and premiered more than 70 works. She performed in a harp-flute duo with her husband, composer and recording producer Michael Leese.
Michael Leese, 49, passed away November 22, 2012. Leese received music degrees from Jacksonville University and Boston University. His principal teachers were Theodore Antoniou, Bernard Rands and Edwin London. Leese wrote nearly 100 works for soloists, chamber ensembles and orchestras. He also was active as a flutist, music copyist and recording producer.
From the guide to the Jocelyn Chang and Michael Leese Music Collection, 1990-2005, (Cleveland State University)
