Who We Are

Leslie Kwan is an American harpsichordist who loves nothing more than sharing  music to make people feel better. 

Born and raised in New York, Leslie is first generation Guyanese-American, and comes from a family that celebrates life through music. Whether it was singing hymns in church, listening to her mother sing while cooking, or playing impromptu concerts at family gatherings, Leslie's love of bringing people together through music was honed at a very young age. She began piano studies at age 4 and had the privilege of making her debut at Carnegie Recital Hall at age 12. She graduated from the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts where she was a double major in piano and viola, and holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in harpsichord performance from Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, as well as a Master of Music from the Mannes College of Music, New York City where she was a Helena Rubenstein scholar.

Highlights of Ms Kwan's career include Associate Marketing Director role of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from September 2015 where she was recruited to manage niche cultural partnerships and events across all BSO brands and  audience development for the Young Professionals Group. She also created and launched the Medical Card programme between the BSO, local hospitals and medical schools in Boston, MA. Recruited in  August 2016 by the Handel + Haydn Society as Acting Marketing Director, Leslie managed all marketing, communications and digital platforms for the organisation, created and launched H+H's Listening Room, and secured corporate sponsorships in support of the organisation’s fundraising goals. In February 2018, Ms Kwan was invited by the Chineke! Foundation in London to manage the charity's press, marketing, communications and social media platforms. for their performance at the reopening of Queen Elizabeth Hall in April 2018. 

Previously, Leslie founded L’Académie Baroque Orchestra in Boston, MA, a chamber ensemble that specialised in French Baroque repertoire, where she managed all operations and served as harpsichordist for eight seasons. Inspired by her mother's survival of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2009,  Leslie's pioneering music in medical settings concept led to a weekly chamber music series exclusively for cancer patients, families and staff at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute between December 2012 and December 2015. Between December 2014, and December 2015, the series expanded into Massachusetts General Hospital in support of the patients, staff and families of the neonatal unit. In October 2019,  Leslie moved to London where she founded Lionsgate Music, a charity dedicated to supporting the NHS through live chamber music concerts exclusively for hospital staff, patients and their families in the United Kingdom. 

In response to the pandemic's impact on live chamber music performances, in June 2021, , Ms. Kwan expanded from her work from  Lionsgate Music into a media company, The Monarch Network. 

A lover of French culture, travel, dogs and  global cities with iconic rivers, Ms. Kwan resides in London.