Live from Boston, MA

Cellist Kathryn Bates’ boundless energy for sharing musical experiences has shaped a career that continues to explore the intersections of tradition and innovation. Praised for her “beautifully rounded sound” by the New York Times, Kathryn’s performances are characterized by a dancer’s sense of rhythm and captivating theatricality. Projects range from her recent tongue-in-check solo cello recording of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (“Inspire Christmas” album on Sono Luminus) to performances during Elliott Carter 100th Birthday anniversary celebration at Tanglewood that were called the “revelation” of the concert (Sequenza 21) and “electrifying” (Boston Globe). Cellist of the San Francisco-based Del Sol Quartet since 2010, Kathryn has established herself as an important voice in the contemporary music world, as musician, collaborator and curator.

Fascinated by the feedback loop between social change, technology, and artistic innovation, Del Sol is a leading force in 21st-century chamber music – whether introducing Ben Johnston’s microtonal Americana at the Library of Congress or in a canyon cave, taking Aeryn Santillan’s gun-violence memorial to the streets of the Mission District, exploring Andean soundscapes with Gabriela Lena Frank, or collaborating with Huang Ruo and the anonymous poets who carved their words into the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station during the years of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Del Sol has commissioned or premiered thousands of works by composers including Terry Riley, Gabriela Lena Frank, Frederic Rzewski, Vijay Iyer, Andy Akiho, Mason Bates, Miya Masaoka, Michael Harrison, Huang Ruo, Pamela Z, Chinary Ung, Chen Yi, Erberk Eryilmaz, Theresa Wong, Reza Vali and Kui Dong. The quartet works regularly with composers through workshops, universities across the country, as well as Del Sol commissioning and incubator programs. They especially value their ongoing relationship with the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music in Boonville, CA.

The quartet has performed at venues including the Kennedy Center, Symphony Space, Miller Theatre, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, the Hopkins Center, the Other Minds Festival, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Santa Fe Opera; Chautauqua Institution, and internationally in Europe and Asia. Recent projects include Huang Ruo’s ANGEL ISLAND–Oratorio exploring the dark history of discrimination against Chinese immigrants and and “The Resonance Between ”, a collaboration with North Indian musicians Alam Khan & Arjun Verma. Del Sol is a current artist on the ImmerSphere roster, a groundbreaking platform that produces performances in augmented reality.

Kathryn’s seventh album with the Quartet releases October 2021 as a coloring book, featuring Huang Ruo’s meditative quartet “A Dust in TIme.” Previous albums include “Kooch-e Khamân,” the “addictive” Dark Queen Mantra and Scrapyard Exotica, which The New York Times asked : “See if your foot can stay still once you put on this funky disc of rhythmically infectious… music played by the adventurous Del Sol String Quartet.”

As curator, Kathryn co-curated the recent 2017 Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music to rave reviews and premiere performances. She has shaped Del Sol’s local scene for years with her series “Soundings” – a concert experience where audiences delve deeply into one work – played twice – amplified by the work of a local artist and the “Golden Arts Society,” an intimate house concert series. A sought-after teacher and chamber music coach, Kathryn maintains a private studio focusing on adult non-professionals, ranging from Fermilab physicists to Apple accountants to ferry boat captains. A native of historic Concord, Massachusetts, Kathryn holds degrees from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.