The Loop HK 30 Under 30 2017

Founder and director, H1Music; film score composer

Elliot Leung has worked on just about every medium of music you can imagine — from arranging music for film, TV to music theater and video games.

His mother taught him how to play the piano when he was 2 — and he later picked up the cello, at the age of 5. “I guess I’d always composed since day one of my music career, but just didn’t realize it was called composing,” he reminisces. “I composed and conducted my first choral work when I was 13, and decided I wanted to be a film composer when I was 16.”

“Originally I was fixated on making a career solely on composing for films, but later discovered more different platforms to compose for, such as video games and shows,” he adds.

“I composed and conducted my first choral work when I was 13.”

After gaining a music composition degree at the Wheaton Conservatory of Music in Illinois, Leung returned to Hong Kong and became a scoring assistant for Hong Kong composer Leon Ko Sai-tseung for the 2013 film “Insanity”. He later became an orchestrator for Ko for the 2016 theater production “Field of Dreams”, while also teaching music production and theory classes on the side.

Later on, he established H1Music, specializing in composing and arranging music for film directors on specific projects. His time is filled holding meetings with film directors to learn about their vision, conceptualizing and composing the music, then scheduling recording sessions. He has worked with major companies and organizations including HKTDC; China-based Bona Film Group; and Hong Kong’s Emperor Motion Pictures, to name a few.

While pursuing something he loves, Leung hopes to bring a message to Hong Kong too. “I have engaged in conversations with many different age groups, backgrounds and professions in Hong Kong and have realized that a large percentage of the population here are living safely and not taking risks,” he explains.

“I think the dated thoughts of ‘learning music doesn’t get one a career’ are gradually wearing out, so I want to address something bigger than that. Besides bringing new original music to Hong Kong and filling the city with fresh creativity, I hope to encourage all to pursue what they truly love.”

His first job? Teaching the piano when he was 12!

His role models? Marty O’Donnell, composer of video game Halo; and Leon Ko, his former boss.