Conductor Erik Leung

Erik Leung

Fall Concert - November 17, 2024
Holiday Concert - December 06, 2024
Spring Concert - May 18, 2025
Biography Below

Photo of Conductor Erik Leung

A native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Erik Kar Jun Leung serves at the Director of Bands at Oregon State University, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting, and oversees all aspects of the band program at OSU. Groups under his direction have been invited to perform at the Western International Band Clinic, the Percy Grainger Wind Festival, the NW NAfME Conference, the WNW CBDNA Conference, the Oregon Music Educators Conference, and the first-ever Small Band Program Showcase at the College Band Directors National Association. The Oregon State University Wind Ensemble was also selected as a finalist for the American Prize in Music Wind Band Division. 

Leung completed his DMA in Wind Conducting from Northwestern University and has earned degrees from the University of Toronto (M.Mus) and the University of Calgary (B.Mus with distinction, B.Ed). His teachers include Mallory Thompson, Gillian Mackay, Glenn Price, Mark Hopkins, and Jeremy Brown. 

As a researcher and author, Leung has written articles for the Canadian Winds and created the critical edition of Jan Meyerowitz’s Three Comments on War for concert band, published through E.B. Marks Music Company. Most recently, his book The Horizon Leans Forward… Stories of Courage, Strength, and Triumph of Underrepresented Communities in the Wind Band Field was published through GIA Music Publications. He has presented at a variety of conferences throughout North America and Europe including the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the national College Band Directors National Association convention, and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles in Utrecht, Netherlands.

A passionate educator, he has been nominated for the Edwin Parr Teaching Award, was a semi-finalist for the Alberta Excellence in Teaching Award and received the Merit Award for teaching excellence at Fresno Pacific University. He holds memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, the Oregon Music Educators Association, and the Canadian Band Association.