A two-time Grammy Award-winning musician, composer and producer, Leong has redefined what it means to be a 21st-century artist. Renowned as one of the world’s leading electric cellists, and celebrated by world class artists as a top trombonist, his work bridges the worlds of jazz, classical, hip-hop, electronic dance and meditative healing music. His performances are unforgettable immersive journeys that combine art and science, emotion and data, soul and circuitry.
Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area by his mother, acclaimed pianist Sumiko Nagasawa, Dana began performing at a young age and became a Stanford University jazz instructor at 16, the youngest in the program’s history. His musical curiosity led him to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he completed public-policy studies that now inform his approach to cultural diplomacy and social innovation.
As the founder of TEKTONIKmusic.org, he uses sound and neuroscience to help communities heal from trauma. TEKTONIK continues to collaborate with artists across more than a dozen countries and has been featured at the United Nations, TEDxShanghai, and the World Economic Forum, where he was named a Young Global Leader. Dana has composed for global brands such as Hermès, Virgin Galactic and Porsche, and performed alongside icons including Kanye West, DJ Qbert, and 16 Time Grammy Winner Paquito D’Rivera.
With his pioneering project TEKTONIK NEUROsymphony, he merges live performance with AI and real-time brain-wave data to create music that evolves with human emotion. As the host of #UpgradeMe with Dana Leong, he explores the inner journeys of global leaders, revealing how creativity, resilience and purpose shape extraordinary lives.
From Davos to Tokyo, Dana Leong embodies the evolution of sound and spirit, a modern polymath whose work transforms not only what we hear, but how we feel.