Drawing on their vast experiences as soloists, chamber musicians, and world-renowned teachers, this two-week intensive features masterclasses, private lessons, and panel discussions centered around helping students prepare for their upcoming college admission auditions.

• Julie Albers (McDuffie Center for Strings, Mercer University; Principal, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra)
• Paul Katz (New England Conservatory; Cleveland Quartet)
• Natasha Brofsky (The Juilliard School; The Peabody Trio)
• Guy Johnston (Eastman School of Music, Univ. of Rochester; Aronowitz Ensemble)
• Astrid Schween (The Juilliard School; Juilliard String Quartet)
• Horacio Contreras (University of North Texas; Strings of Latin America)
• Amit Even-Tov (Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Univ. of Cincinnati; Ariel Quartet)
• Jonathan Koh (University of California, Berkeley)
• Amir Eldan (University of Michigan)
• Antonio Lysy (UCLA)
• Jennifer Culp (San Francisco Conservatory of Music; Kronos Quartet)
• Brandon Vamos (University of Indiana; Pacifica Quartet)
• Blaise Déjardin (New England Conservatory; Principal, Boston Symphony)

Whether you are a high school student planning ahead for upcoming undergraduate auditions, a seasoned teacher looking to help prepare your students, or a parent seeking audition guidance for their child, this workshop is designed to give you tools to demystify the conservatory and music school audition process. This program will help our participants play a fantastic audition for the school of their dreams.

Please note:

1. All events on Mondays through Saturdays will be held between 6:30 pm and 10:00 pm ET. Sunday events will be scheduled from 2:30 pm and 6:00 pm ET.
2. All private lessons will be scheduled based on mutual availability between the teacher and student.
3. Panel discussions and masterclasses will be recorded for those that are unable to attend live.

 

for student participants

PLEASE NOTE: Student registrations are sold out, but Auditor participation is still possible (see below).

Upon acceptance into the workshop, participants:

• Will receive two opportunities for individual feedback, either through private lessons, masterclasses or a combination of the two.
• Will have at least one private lesson.
• Can attend all masterclasses and participate in all panel discussions.
• Will have access to archived footage of group classes and panel discussions for later viewing, available through the end of 2022.

Video Application Requirements

CelloBello will accept as many students as possible, but needs to keep enrollment small enough to make the 2-week experience personal and valuable.

Any student that we are unable to accommodate in the full program will be admitted as auditor, if they so choose. (see ‘For Auditors’ section below) Financial assistance will be available for these acceptances.

2 short movements of contrasting style or 5-10 minutes of a movement of a concerto.

Piano accompaniment is encouraged but not required, where it applies.

Applications for students are due by 11:59 pm on October 17th!

Fee Structure

Application: Free
Tuition: $600 after acceptance
Financial Assistance: Available to accepted participants with need

 

for auditors

In response to requests from parents, teachers, and in order to include students for whom we do not have room as playing participants, CelloBello also offers an auditing-only package. For a fee of $200, auditors have access to all masterclasses and panel discussions, including archives for later viewing.

 

schedule

Tuesday, November 1st 2022 | 6:30 – 8:00 pm ET:
Panel Discussion: How to Practice – Preparing a Large Amount of Repertoire
with Blaise Déjardin, Amit Even-Tov, Astrid Schween, and Brandon Vamos

Wednesday, November 2nd 2022 | 6:30 – 8:00 pm ET:
Master Class – Paul Katz

Thursday, November 3rd 2022 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm ET:
Master Class – Guy Johnston

Friday, November 4th 2022 | 8:30 – 10:00 pm ET:
Master Class – Astrid Schween

Saturday, November 5th 2022 | 6:30 – 8:00 pm ET:
Master Class – Amir Eldan

Sunday, November 6th 2022 | 4:30 – 6:00 pm ET:
Panel Discussion: Know Your Audience: What the Jury is Listening For
with Horacio Contreras, Amir Eldan and Antonio Lysy

Monday, November 7th 2022 | 8:30 – 10:00 pm ET:
Master Class – Julie Albers

Wednesday, November 9th 2022 | 8:30 – 10:00 pm ET:
Master Class – Jonathan Koh

Thursday, November 10th 2022 | 8:30 – 10:00 pm ET:
Master Class – Amit Even-Tov

Friday, November 11th 2022 | 8:30 – 10:00 pm ET:
Master Class – Natasha Brofsky

Saturday, November 12th 2022 | 6:30 – 7:30 pm ET:
Panel Discussion: Audio/Video Tips for Successful Audition Recordings
with Paul Katz and CelloBello Team Members

Sunday, November 13th 2022 | 4:30 – 6:00 pm ET:
Panel Discussion: What Conservatories and Music Schools Are Looking For and How to Select Your School
with Jennifer Culp, Antonio Lysy and Natasha Brofsky

 

meet our 2022 workshop faculty!

 

JULIE ALBERS
McDuffie Center for Strings, Mercer University; Principal, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra

American cellist Julie Albers currently is assistant professor and holds the Mary Jean and Charles Yates Cello Chair at the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Ms. Albers is recognized for her superlative artistry, her charismatic and radiant performing style, and her intense musicianship. She was born into a musical family in Longmont, Colorado and began violin studies at the age of two with her mother, switching to cello at four. She moved to Cleveland during her junior year of high school to pursue studies through the Young Artist Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Richard Aaron. Miss Albers soon was awarded the Grand Prize at the XIII International Competition for Young Musicians in Douai, France, and as a result toured France as soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Douai.

Ms. Albers made her major orchestral debut with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1998, and thereafter has performed in recital and with orchestras throughout North America, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2001, she won Second Prize in Munich’s Internationalen Musikwettbewerbes der ARD, and was also awarded the Wilhelm-Weichsler-Musikpreis der Stadt Osnabruch . In North America, Miss Albers has performed with many important orchestras and ensembles. Recent performances have included exciting debuts on the San Francisco Performances series and with the Grant Park Music Festival where she performed Penderecki’s Concerto Grosso for 3 cellos with Mr. Penderecki conducting.

In 2014, Miss Albers was named principal cellist of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In addition to this appointment, she regularly participates in chamber music festivals around the world. 2009 marked the end of a three year residency with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two. She is currently active with the Albers String Trio and the Cortona Trio. Teaching is also a very important part of Miss Albers’ musical life.

PAUL KATZ
New England Conservatory;
Cleveland Quartet

Paul Katz is known for his 26-year career as cellist of the internationally acclaimed Cleveland Quartet; as a world-renown teacher of his instrument; for his featured role mentoring young cellists in the made for PBS film Talent Has Hunger; and as Founder and Artistic Director of CelloBello.org, the world’s leading online resource center for cellists. As soloist Katz has played throughout North America, Europe and China. Of special interest to cellists is the Cleveland Quartet’s recording of the Schubert Quintet for two cellos with Paul Katz and Yo-Yo Ma.

The Cleveland Quartet were the first classical artists ever to appear on the Grammy Awards Telecast (1973); performed at the White House; were subjects of a major documentary, “In the Mainstream-The Cleveland Quartet”; and made 70 major label recordings, many of which received distinctions including Best of the Year Awards from Time Magazine and Stereo Review, 11 Grammy nominations and 2 Grammy Awards.
In 2010, with the support of WGBH in Boston and NEC, Katz created CelloBello.org, building a global cello community and serving all cellists and enthusiasts world-wide with the highest level of musical instruction, inspiration and interaction.
A student of Gregor Piatigorsky, János Starker, Bernard Greenhouse, Gabor Rejto and Leonard Rose, he played in the historic 1962 Pablo Casals Master Class in Berkeley, California.

Since 2001, Katz has taught at the New England Conservatory, where he is on the cello and chamber music faculties and is Director of NEC’s Professional String Quartet Training Program. https://www.cellobello.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Natasha-Brofsky-Square.jpgNATASHA BROFSKY
The Juilliard School; The Peabody Trio[/fusion_text][fusion_accordion hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” border_size=”1″ title_tag=”h4″ title_color=”#a91e23″ icon_color=”#ffffff” icon_box_color=”#a91e23″ content_color=”#60604b” toggle_hover_accent_color=”#607d8b”][fusion_toggle title=”Biography” open=”no” title_color=”#a91e23″ content_color=”#60604b”]Natasha Brofsky has been on the faculty at the Yellow Barn Festival (Vermont) since 2001; New England Conservatory since 2004, and has been on the faculty at The Julliard School since 2012 and of the school’s Pre-college faculty since 2016. She is cellist of the Naumberg Award-winning Peabody Trio, which has performed on leading chamber music series throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K.. The trio has been heard on numerous radio broadcasts, and has recorded on the New World, CRI, and Artek labels. She has performed as a guest artist with numerous ensembles, including the Takacs, Prazak, Cassatt, Norwegian, Jupiter, Ying, and Borromeo quartets.

Brofsky has held principal positions in the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra under Iona Brown. She was also a member of the Serpion Ensemble, performing with the group in Germany and Austria, and the string trio Opus 3, which performed throughout Norway for Rikskonsertene, the Norwegian State Concert Agency. She recorded Olav Anton Thommessen’s Concerto for Cello and Winds for Aurora Records and was a regular participant at Open Chamber Music in Prussia Cove, England. She has given master classes at many schools, including San Francisco Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, and Boston University.

In addition to Yellow Barn Festival, New England Conservatory of Music and The Juilliard School, Brofsky has taught at Barratt-Due’s Institute in Oslo and at the University of Colorado-Boulder and the Heifetz Institute. She holds a BM and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School and a MM from Mannes College the New School for Music. Brofsky studied with Marion Feldman, Robert Sylvester, Paul Katz, and Timothy Eddy, and on a Fulbright grant with William Pleeth in London, where she was awarded the Muriel Taylor Cello Prize.

GUY JOHNSTON
Eastman School of Music, Univ. of Rochester; Aronowitz Ensemble

Cellist Guy Johnston serves as associate professor of cello at Eastman School of Music, The University of Rochester. One of the most exciting and versatile British cellists of his generation, Johnston was born into a musical family and joined his brothers in the world-renowned choir of King’s College, Cambridge, where he recorded the famous carol, “Once in Royal David’s City” under Stephen Cleobury. He went on to achieve important early successes through the BBC Young Musician of the Year title, the Guilhemina Suggia Gift, the Shell London Symphony Orchestra Gerald MacDonald Award, and receiving a Classical Brit Award at the Royal Albert Hall. His mentors have included Steven Doane, Ralph Kirshbaum, Bernard Greenhouse, Steven Isserlis and David Waterman.

He has made many important debuts including the First Night of the BBC Proms playing the Elgar Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin, the Brahms Double Concerto in the Philharmonie with the DSO Berlin under Juraj Valchua, Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations with the St. Petersburg State Capella Orchestraunder Dmitriev in St. Petersburg, the Elgar Concerto with the Osaka Philharmonic under Tadaaki Otaka in Tokyo, and the Schumann Concerto with the English Chamber Orchestra under Tilbrook. Among past highlights with leading orchestras in the UK are Strauss’s Don Quixote with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain under Yan Pascal Tortelier, the Walton Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic under Tortelier, the Dvorak Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Seal, Britten’s Cello Symphony with the Royal Northern Sinfonia under Robin Ticciati, and Shostakovich Concerto No. 2 with the RTE National Orchestra under Vladimir Altschuler in Dublin.

Guy plays a 1714 David Tecchler cello, generously on loan from the Godlee-Tecchler Trust which is administered by The Royal Society of Musicians. He has recently commissioned and recorded a number of short new works to celebrate its tricentenary by composers including Charlotte Bray, David Matthews, and Mark Simpson. The CD also includes a performance with the acclaimed Accademia di Santa Cecilia recorded in Rome where the Cello was made. ASTRID SCHWEEN
The Juilliard School; Juilliard String Quartet Cellist Astrid Schween has gained a rich following and enjoys a varied career as a soloist, chamber artist and teacher. Since joining the Juilliard String Quartet in 2016, she has appeared at many of the world’s great concert halls including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Konzerthaus, Wigmore Hall, Tokyo’s Yamaha Hall, at Lincoln Center, The 92nd Street Y, Ravinia, Tanglewood, the Kennedy Center, and in Hong Kong, Singapore, Greece, China, Spain, Holland, Denmark, Norway and throughout Canada and the US.

At the age of 16, Astrid Schween made her concerto debut with the New York Philharmonic and conductor, Zubin Mehta, who also arranged a special invitation for her to study privately in London with the legendary cellist, Jacqueline DuPre. With degrees from the Juilliard School, Schween received her primary training under the guidance of Leonard Rose, Harvey Shapiro, Channing Robbins, Ardyth Alton and Dr. H.T. Ma, with additional studies under Bernard Greenhouse and Eugene Moye. She performed in master classes for Philippe Muller and William Pleeth, and also participated in the Marlboro Music Festival.

Astrid Schween maintains a lively solo performance schedule in addition to her extensive touring with the Juilliard String Quartet. She recently performed the Elgar Concerto with the Boulder Philharmonic and received recital and master class invitations from Tanglewood, the Eastman School of Music, Boston Conservatory, Violoncello Society of New York, Cleveland Cello Society, and has been featured in Strings and Strad magazines, on NPR, and was a guest speaker on the topic, “Women in Music” at the Library of Congress.
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A dedicated and passionate teacher and mentor, Astrid Schween is a member of the Cello Faculty at Juilliard and the Perlman Music Program. She is represented by Thomas Gallant. HORACIO CONTRERAS
University of North Texas; Strings of Latin America

Venezuelan cellist Horacio Contreras has gained esteem through a multifaceted career as a concert cellist, chamber musician, pedagogue, and scholar. He has collaborated with prestigious institutions across the Americas and Europe as a concerto soloist, a recitalist, a chamber musician, and a master class clinician. His pedagogic book Exercises for the Cello in Various Combinations of Double-Stops has received recognition as a significant contribution to the instrument’s literature. He is the coauthor of The Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Cello Works, a comprehensive database with information about works written by Latin American composers. He serves on the faculty of the University of North Texas, having previously served on the faculty of Lawrence University and the Music Institute of Chicago, and is a member of the Reverón Piano Trio and the Four Corners Ensemble.

Photo credit: Natali Herrera-Pacheco

AMIT EVEN-TOV
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Univ. of Cincinnati; Ariel Quartet Israeli cellist Amit Even-Tov serves as associate professor of cello at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. She is also a member of the Ariel String Quartet. Amit conducted her bachelor’s studies at the New England Conservatory under the guidance of Paul Katz and Laurence Lesser; she also had additional studies with Walter Levin (violinist of the famed former CCM quartet-in-residence The LaSalle Quartet) as well as Miriam Fried and Itzhak Perlman.

Even-Tov has earned a great deal of success as a soloist. In competition, she has won first prize in international competitions including Israel’s Ben-Haim Competition and the special Jerusalem Academy Competition; in addition, she received 3rd prize in a national competition held by Kol Ha Musica radio (a national classical radio station based out of Jerusalem). Her long list of guest appearances as soloist and chamber musician include performances at the Verbier Festival (Switzerland), Great Lakes Chamber Festival (Southfield, Mich.), Ravinia Festival (Highland Park, Ill.) and the Yellow Barn Music Festival (Putney, Vt.).

As a member of the Ariel String Quartet (CCM String Quartet-in-Residence since 2012), Even-Tov has shared in winning the Cleveland Quartet Award, Grand Prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (South Bend, Ind.), First Prize International at the “Franz Schubert and the Music of Modernity” Competition (Graz, Austria) and 3rd prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition (Banff, Alberta, Canada). The group also received the Székely Prize at the Banff Competition for Bartók performance. She has been honored to share the stage with notable performers including Menahem Pressler, Alisa Weilerstein, David Krakauer, the American String Quartet and the Jerusalem String Quartet. During their stay at CCM, the members of the Ariel Quartet have had the honor of giving a complete performance of all of Beethoven’s string quartets (dubbed “The Cycle”) in early 2014.

Even-Tov and the other members of the Quartet are touring and concertizing extensively in North and South America, Canada, Europe, Israel and Asia; these travels have included multiple appearances in New York’s Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, as well as other prestigious American and international locations including The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), Kaisersaal (Frankfurt, Germany) and others. JONATHAN KOH
University of California, Berkeley Cellist Jonathan Koh has established himself as one of the most exciting musical entrepreneurs and teachers of this generation. An active soloist, ensemble musician, clinician, and administrator, Jonathan has already laid claim to several groundbreaking musical endeavors. A passionate and dedicated teacher who is gaining international recognition, Jonathan’s students have won countless major national and international competitions and have performed all across the globe. His students have also been featured in several radio and television stations throughout the United States and abroad.

Prior to relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2005, Jonathan maintained a thriving teaching studio in Chicago and served as the primary teaching assistant to Hans Jorgen Jensen at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, with whom he has studied with for over a decade. Immediately following his undergraduate studies, Jonathan joined the San Francisco Conservatory of Music faculty as its youngest faculty hire in its school history. Soon after, Jonathan was appointed as a faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley. Jonathan’s teaching is continuously sought out by students, not only from all across the Bay Area, but from Southern California, neighboring West Coast states, the Midwest, and Asia. During the summer months, Jonathan teaches at the Meadowmount School of Music in New York.

Jonathan Koh received his education at Northwestern University, enrolling in its double-degree program to integrate pre-medicine, economics, and music. He also studied at Yale University Summer Program to further his studies in the medical field. AMIR ELDAN
University of Michigan Amir Eldan was appointed a professor of cello at the University of Michigan in 2019. He performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and as guest principal cellist. In 2011-12, he served as principal cellist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra by invitation from Zubin Mehta and a year later, as guest principal cellist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. At age 22, he became the youngest member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York, when he won the position of associate principal cellist and was invited by James Levine to perform with the MET Chamber Ensemble in Carnegie Hall.

As the winner of the Juilliard Competition, Eldan made his New York debut with the Brahms Double Concerto in Lincoln Center and has performed the six Bach Cello Suites in a series of concerts worldwide.

Eldan has collaborated in chamber music performances with members of the Cleveland, Guarneri, and Juilliard String Quartets and the Beaux Arts Trio, pianist Richard Goode, and cellists Lynn Harrell and Steven Isserlis. Music festivals appearances include Bowdoin, Giverny (France), La Jolla (California), Pilsen (Czech Republic), Prussia Cove (England), and West Cork (Ireland). He also participated in the Marlboro music festival and toured with Musicians From Marlboro.

In 2006, while working on his doctorate, Eldan was appointed cello professor at the Oberlin Conservatory and served as chair of the String Department from 2015-19. He was a member of the Oberlin Trio and performed with the Trio throughout the U.S. and South Korea.
Professor Eldan holds a DMA and MM, both from Juilliard where he also served as a guest teacher. His performances have been featured on public television and radio in the U.S., Europe, and in Israel. ANTONIO LYSY
UCLA Antonio Lysy, an artist of international stature and dedicated pedagogue, has performed as a soloist in major concert halls worldwide. He has appeared with such orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras of London, Camerata Academica of Salzburg, Zurich Tonhalle, the Zagreb Soloists, Orchestra di Padova e il Veneto, Israel Sinfonietta, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Les Violons du Roi.

In the summer of 2003 Lysy accepted the position of Professor of Cello at University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to moving to the United States, he held a professorship at McGill University in Montréal. He was also, for a number of years, visiting professor at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland.

Antonio has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Yuri Temirkanov, Charles Dutoit, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Sandor Vegh, and Kees Bakels, and continues to perform regularly both as a solo, and chamber music artist. Lysy enjoys exploring the versatility of the cello’s voice, from Baroque to electric, and is committed to projects which enrich his diverse interests in music.

His love and commitment to chamber music is demonstrated by his musical directorship and founding in 1989, of the annual Incontri in Terra di Siena Chamber Music Festival in Tuscany, Italy (www.itslafoce.org). Distinguished artists from around the globe take part in this idyllic summer retreat, which is crowned by performances in medieval fortresses, palazzi, and churches in the Southern Tuscan region.
Lysy has recorded extensively for CBC Radio, BBC Radio, Classic FM, and other European radio networks. His live recording of solo cello repertoire by Bach, Berio, Henze, and Walton, released on the Pelléas label, is “…some of the most beautiful Bach ever heard” (– La Presse, Montréal). In addition, he has recorded for the Claves, Dinemec Classics, and Fonè labels. In January 2012, he recorded and premiered the reworked Eric Zeisl cello concerto with the UCLA Philharmonia directed by Neal Stulberg. This cd is available on the Yarlung Records label. JENNIFER CULP
San Francisco Conservatory of Music; Kronos Quartet Jennifer Culp, cellist, is a well-traveled California native, and has enjoyed a rich and diversified musical career. She has been professor of cello and chamber music at San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 2007. Teaching and performing at two favorite summer festivals Kneisel Hall and Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival aligned music with nature. As an avid chamber musician , Culp has performed with many inspired musicians including members of the Juilliard, Cleveland and Amadeus Quartets, Sandor Vegh, Walter Trampler, Laurence Lesser, Gil Kalish, Felix Galimir, Seymour Lipkin, Menahem Pressler, Dawn Upshaw, Irina Schnittke, Tom Waits and the Romanian Gypsy Band ‘Taraf de Haidouks’.

Always keenly interested in new music, Ms. Culp was the cellist of Kronos Quartet from 1998 to 2005 performing at such venues as Sydney Opera House, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, WOMAD festival in New Zealand, and London’s Barbican Center. KQ was named Musical America’s 2003 “Musicians of the Year” and won a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance of Berg’s Lyric Suite in 2004. Through close collaboration with living composers, numerous world premieres have been recorded on Nonesuch, New Albion, CRI, Sony, Albany and New World Records. Ms. Culp has also performed and toured with the following ensembles – Dunsmuir Piano Quartet, Philadelphia String Quartet, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. The haunted world of Cornwall, England was visited for 7 years to participate in the International Seminar at Prussia Cove for Open Chamber Music – Mentors Sandor Vegh and Gyorgy Kurtag inspired non-stop music readings late into the night. BRANDON VAMOS
University of Indiana; Pacifica Quartet Brandon Vamos is professor of practice (cello) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a member of the Pacifica Quartet, the school’s quartet-in-residence.

He has appeared as soloist with orchestras worldwide and has collaborated with many distinguished artists, including Paul Katz, Michael Tree, Yo-Yo Ma, Menahem Pressler, and the Emerson Quartet, and has recorded for Cedille, Naxos, and Cacophony Records. Awarded a Performer’s Certificate at the Eastman School of Music, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree as a student of Paul Katz, Vamos has also studied with distinguished artists such as Tanya Carey in Macomb, Ill., and Aldo Parisot at Yale University, where he earned a Master of Music degree. As a member of the Pacifica Quartet, he won a 2009 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance and the Cleveland Quartet Award, in addition to being named Musical America’s 2009 Ensemble of the Year. https://www.cellobello.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Blaise-Dejardin-Square.jpg

BLAISE DÉJARDIN
New England Conservatory; Principal, Boston Symphony

Strasbourg-born cellist Blaise Déjardin was appointed principal cello of the Boston Symphony Orchestra by BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons in spring 2018, having joined the BSO’s cello section in 2008. He is the 14th principal cello in the history of the orchestra. In making the appointment, Maestro Nelsons praised Déjardin as “an absolute complete musician with an exquisite breadth of tone, beautiful musical phrasing, and inspired creativity and imagination, only matched by his supreme dedication to conveying the true spirit of the music.” In addition, Déjardin serves on the faculty of New England Conservatory of Music.

Déjardin made his highly acclaimed concerto debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons in spring 2022 in Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1. He has also performed as soloist with orchestra around the world with such ensembles as the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Longwood Symphony Orchestra, Cape Ann Symphony, and Melrose Symphony Orchestra. Recent solo performances featured concertos by Dvořák, Brahms, and Shostakovich.

A dedicated chamber musician, he spent two summers at Ravinia’s Steans Institute and is since 2018 a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. Previously, Déjardin was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. He was also a founding member of A Far Cry and the Boston Cello Quartet. He has arranged numerous pieces for cello ensembles, earning five ASCAP Plus Awards and receiving commissions from Yo-Yo Ma, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and A Far Cry. In 2013 he launched Opus Cello, his online sheet music publishing company. He has served as artistic director of the Boston Cello Society since its creation in 2015.

Déjardin made his solo debut with orchestra at age 14 performing Haydn’s C major concerto at the Corum in Montpellier, France. Among his numerous awards and honors, he was awarded first prize at the Maurice Gendron International Cello Competition and was also the youngest prizewinner at the 6th Adam International Cello Competition in New Zealand. In 2007 he made his Paris recital debut at Le Petit Palais as a laureate of the program Déclic supporting emerging young soloists in France.

In 2019 Déjardin released the album MOZART New Cello Duos with cellist Kee-Hyun Kim, featuring his own transcriptions. He also appears on both Boston Cello Quartet albums Pictures and The Latin Project. His first album as principal cello of the BSO, Adès Conducts Adès, was released by Deutsche Gramophone in 2020.

Déjardin holds a first prize in Cello with highest honors from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique of Paris, as well as a master of music degree and a graduate diploma from the New England Conservatory in Boston. His main teachers were Philippe Muller, Laurence Lesser, and Bernard Greenhouse. He serves on the cello faculty of the New England Conservatory and is regularly invited to give masterclasses in Europe, China, and North America. His instructional book Audition Day was published by Opus Cello in 2022.