Guide to the Jocelyn Chang and Michael Leese Music Collection

Biography of Jocelyn Chang and Michael Leese

Jocelyn Chang, a Cleveland harpist who was a major contributor to new music here and around the world, died of complications from cancer on November 19, 2010 at the age of 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 with the Jocelyn Chang Harp Ensemble, in collaboration with many musicians and ensembles, and also in a harp-flute duo with her husband, composer and recording producer Michael Leese.

Michael Leese, 49, passed away on 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 was also active as a flutist, music copyist and recording producer.

Scope and Content

An exceptionally rich musical collection, this material comprises two connected collections of a musical couple, one of Jocelyn Chang's and one of Michael Leese, representing their musical accomplishments and interests. The collection contains personal papers and belongings (ephemera, correspondence, flyers, photographs), sheet music and scores, articles of interest, Cleveland Chamber Symphony documents, material concerning the new music movement (in Cleveland and across the country), and music education. Jocelyn Chang's long and influential career was marked by involvement with the entire breadth of Cleveland's musical scene, including the local chapter of the musicians' union, churches, many musical institutions and community orchestras, and recording studios. Chang championed a revolutionary invention, the Dilling harp, for which she commissioned and premiered more than 70 works. She also performed in a harp-flute duo with her husband, composer and recording producer Michael Leese.

Michael Leese's career, while similar in many aspects to Chang's, was also very much involved with music education, and there is some material from his early days in Boston and the prestigious MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire. Leese left papers, music manuscripts, and recordings from his work as a widely respected composer both in traditional and electronic formats.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Please refer to our acknowledgement and statement on copyright below:

http://clevelandmemory.org/copyright/

Restrictions on Access

Access to this collection is unrestricted.

Indexing Terms

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Preferred Citation

Jocelyn Chang and Michael Leese Music Collection. Special Collections, Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University.

Detailed Description of The Collection