Farewell to ’21 and Cell-o to the New Year: Day 6
Count down the days to the New Year with CelloBello! Today's featured video is Projecting the Cello in an Ensemble with Paul Katz and Rob Mayes.
Count down the days to the New Year with CelloBello! Today's featured video is Projecting the Cello in an Ensemble with Paul Katz and Rob Mayes.
Count down the days to the New Year with CelloBello! Today's featured video is Paul Katz Master Class: Debussy Sonata Prologue and Sérénade (Opening).
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022! Spread the Word and Let’s Double Our CelloBello Community!
Grammy-nominated cellist Aristides Rivas is a founding member of the fusion world music band Voci Angelica Trio. Rivas has performed at a wide range of international music venues and festivals such as Caramoor Music Festival, Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, Newport Jazz Festival, the Barbican in England, Sejong Center in South Korea, and Teatro Colon in Argentina, among others.
Critics have described American cellist Brinton Averil Smith as a “virtuoso cellist with few equals,” hailing him “a proponent of old-school string playing such as that of Piatigorsky and Heifetz.” Smith’s debut recording of Miklós Rózsa’s Cello Concerto with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra received widespread international critical acclaim, with Gramophone praising Smith as a “hugely eloquent, impassioned soloist,” and continuing “The sheer bravura of Smith’s reading is infectious” while the American Record Guide praised his recording of chamber music of Fauré with Gil Shaham as “Stunningly beautiful,” continuing “I cannot imagine a better stylistic match for Shaham.”
Kevin Olusola is best known as the beat boxer of the a cappella quintet Pentatonix. The three-time Grammy® Award-winning and multi-Platinum-selling group has sold more than 10 million albums and performed for fans at their sold-out shows across the globe. Their YouTube channel boasts over 19 million subscribers and yields over 5.1 billion video views. As a solo artist who's been been classically trained in cello, piano, and saxophone, the Yale graduate fuses popular and classical styles together to create a sound new to classical instrumentation.
Mark Kosower joined The Cleveland Orchestra as principal cello in 2010. Described as “a virtuoso of staggering prowess” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, he is a consummate artist equally at home internationally as a recital and concerto soloist. As an orchestral principal, he was formerly solo cellist of the Bamberg Symphony in Germany (2006-10).
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. Mr. Déjardin has performed as soloist with orchestra around the world (Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Longwood Symphony Orchestra, Cape Ann Symphony, Melrose Symphony Orchestra). Recent solo performances featured concertos by Dvorak, Saint-Saens, Brahms and Shostakovich.
Chu Yi-Bing was born in Beijing, China in 1966. His father Chu Yong-Ning and mother Wang Yao-Ling were both professors at the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) in Beijing, China. In 1978, Chu Yi-Bing commenced studying cello with his father at the Middle School of the CCOM in Beijing, China. In 1984 after graduating from the CCOM, Chu Yi-Bing was accepted to Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique à Paris in France where he studied under the tutelage of Maurice Gendron. In 1986 Chu Yi-Bing was prize winner at the 42nd Concours International d’Exécution Musicale in Geneva. He was the first Chinese cellist ever to win a prize in a major international Cello competition.
The Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen leads a busy career as a soloist and chamber-music player, performing extensively with many of the best orchestras and musicians. Anssi Karttunen performs all the standard cello works, has discovered many forgotten masterpieces and transcribed numerous pieces for cello, or chamber ensembles. He is a passionate advocate of contemporary music and his collaboration with composers has led him to give over 180 world premieres of works by composers as diverse as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Pascal Dusapin, Luca Francesconi and Tan Dun.
Cellist Edward Arron has garnered recognition worldwide for his elegant musicianship, impassioned performances, and creative programming. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Arron made his New York recital debut in 2000 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Since that time, he has appeared in recital, as a soloist with major orchestras, and as a chamber musician throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
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.