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Cello News
Yo-Yo Ma in Democracy & Voice
We want the artists and the preachers, the innovators, and the academics to remind us: Who is the “we” in ‘we the people?’ What do we owe each other? When can the healing start?
With Unfinished partner, Aspen Ideas, we stitch together live segments, dynamic films and provoking performances to showcase lived experience, creative expression, and real-world candor. Through conversations, exchanges and roundtable discussions, experts join everyday voices on a nuanced exploration of possibility and discovery.
Click here to watch the video and view the source.
Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s Manager on the Rise of the Classical Star
Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s manager Kathryn Enticott has spoken to Music Week about the incredible rise of the classical star as he targets another Top 10 album.
Sheku Kanneh-Mason has amassed 1,087,762 monthly Spotify listeners. It follows the release of his 2018 debut Inspiration (No.11 peak, 47,591 sales to date – Official Charts Company) and this year’s Elgar with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle (17,111 sales).
The 21-year-old is still a student at the Royal Academy.
“He has such a huge profile in America already, and that’s very unusual,” said Enticott. “There are other classical artists, like James Galway and Nigel Kennedy, who had an international appeal to a broad audience – but not at such a young age.
Click here to go to read the full article by Andre Paine.
Keep Connected with Cellist Hamilton Berry
Strings asked cellist Hamilton Berry to share his thoughts about the pandemic’s impact on his performing, arranging, and composing projects in the New York area and beyond. Along with violinists Curtis Stewart and Jannina Norpoth, and violist Nick Revel, he is a member of the PUBLIQuartet, which participated virtually in the Banff Centre International String Quartet Festival’s streaming edition held in September. He is also a member of the Toomai String Quintet, Founders, Decoda, and the Con Brio Ensemble. He is assistant program director of the Musicambia program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, where he teaches incarcerated string students. Hamilton is quarantined in Brooklyn, New York.
Click here to read the full article by Greg Cahill in Strings.
Crawley Museum Features Cellist Heather Eves
Heather Eves is a cellist who has lived in Crawley since 1991. She writes:
I have enjoyed many musical occasions in the town.
The biggest of these has to be the Crawley Prom in the Park as a member of Sussex Symphony Orchestra. Who can forget these huge events? It seemed the whole of Crawley were sitting on the grass listening to the music, enjoying picnics, watching the fireworks and singing along to the Prom classics, sometimes on a warm summers evening, sometimes in pouring rain.
It’s very important that children get an opportunity to learn and enjoy music, and for me, this meant walking down St Mary’s Drive with multiple instruments on numerous Saturdays taking my children to the Saturday morning music centre at Hazelwick School, now run by West Sussex Music. At that time, it included choirs, kindermusik, orchestras and theory classes – often we were there for the whole morning. It was also a great time to catch up with friends from across the town, catching up with friends and making new ones. We took board games for siblings, if they tired of this we would find them an extra class to go to.
Click here to read the full article on the Crawley Museum site.
Cellist Carolyn Regula, aka “The Cello Doll,” Presents Classical Music to a Digital Audience
Carolyn Regula, who is currently earning a Professional Studies Diploma in cello performance at Mannes School of Music, is a prime example of a musician ready to tackle the challenges of the current moment through unique methods, leading to exciting results.
Regula started her popular social media channel “The Cello Doll” about two years ago, where she uploads original pieces, mash-ups, cello tips, and more in order to make classical music more relatable and accessible to people.
Regula is also working on a solo “Cello Doll” album, and after the pandemic is over, plans to continue performing with other musicians, collaborating with local composers, and making more social media content.
Click here to read the full article.
How Cellist Aijee Evans is Connecting with People through Music on South Street in Philadelphia
Evans, 23, has spent over ten years playing the cello but says her street performing vision began as a high schooler at CAPA in South Philadelphia. “Street performing is where I feel most free. There are no wrong notes. Anything you play is right,” said Evans. “When I started to come out here…after school, I would walk home, and before I would get on the train I would see people in the subway, and I’m like ‘I think I can do that!'”
“I feel amazing when I play. It brings me at peace. It’s definitely therapeutic,” said Evans. “So the fact that I can do that for other people, it’s like a win-win.”
Click here to read the full article by Eric Moody.
Creating Light in the Dark
Those frequenting downtown Moscow [Idaho] may have been pleasantly surprised recently to hear notes from an electric cello reverberating through the streets.
The man behind those melodies is 31-year-old Martin Watkinson of Ashland, Ore., a lifelong cello player and musician.
On average, he spends about 20 hours performing on the street year-round. He plans to stay in Moscow and keep performing through the holidays, at which point he will eventually return to his home in Ashland and continue performing there.
Click here to read the full article by Ellen Dennis.
How Cellist/Actor/Miss Universe Olivia Culpo’s Wellness Philosophy Is Helping Her Cope with Endometriosis — and Quarantine
If this were one of those 20-things-you-don’t-know lists about Olivia Culpo, we might try these for starters: Growing up in Rhode Island, she spent most of her summers at band camp (yes, band camp — and she’s got mad skills on the cello to prove it); she got certified in Transcendental Meditation at age 18 (more on that later), and she worked through the early days of the pandemic to launch her face mask line out of the New York home of a seamstress when factories everywhere ground to a halt.
“About a year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with endometriosis, but I knew there was something wrong before that. I had gone to a number of doctors in agony — crying, shaking. When you’re living with chronic pain, you don’t know if you want to throw up or just curl into a ball and cry. That’s when I started a six-month journey of trying to figure it out. ‘OK, what is going on here?’ I finally went to a doctor who was able to diagnose me. Good thing, because my condition was advanced, and she needed to check my eggs immediately to make sure my fertility was intact.
Click here to read the full article by Mary Anderson.
Cellists RIP
Russian cellist Alexander (Sasha) Bouzlov, RIP
- Tributes pour in for tragic Russian soloist
- Legendary Cellist Alexander Buzlov Has Passed Away
- International Cellist Alexander Buzlov Has Died, Aged Just 37
- Devastating death of top Russian cellist, 37
Herb Beenhouwer: Soldier. Stockbroker. Art collector. Artist. Teacher. Cellist.
Beenhouwer died peacefully at his Santa Fe home on Oct. 28, his daughter Cora Harms said. He was 91.
Ultimately, friends and family members say, he was a man who continually gave to his community as a volunteer, donor and mentor — one reason he was named a Santa Fe Living Treasure in 2015.
“Maybe it was his escape from the Nazi regime,” Vigil said, referring to the fact that Beenhouwer, who was born in Amsterdam in 1929, escaped the Netherlands with his family in 1940 as Hitler’s army occupied the country.
“I don’t know what it was that made him give, but he gave, and he was always giving,” Vigil said. “He always found time, and he always had the most wonderful humor. That was another grounding attribute: his ability to laugh at things.”
Click here to read the full obituary by Robert Nott.
Podcasts
Skip the Repeat Podcast by Pianist Kai Talim – REINVENTORS: Jeremy Turner, Cellist to Composer
As a budding young cellist, Jeremy Turner dreamed of playing in the greatest orchestras in the world. As a senior at The Juilliard School, he accomplished just that: becoming the youngest member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. For the first few years, he was living the dream, collaborating with the best in the business. But slowly, he began to wonder if opera was all there was for him, exploring rock music and tinkering with creating music of his own. At the age of 36, he left the Opera to try his hand at something he had no training in – composition. Today, he is one of the most in-demand composers in the film industry, most recently creating the score for “Chef’s Table” on Netflix.
Click here to go to the podcast page.
Jazz Cellist & Composer Tomeka Reid
Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Cellist & Composer Tomeka Reid .. COVID-19… We talked to her in May 2020 about this new COVID-19 world, projects, her past and the future .. She has be called a “New Jazz Power Source” by the New York Timees and has become on of the most original, versatile, and curious musicians in Chicago’s bustling jazz and improvised music community over the last decade. She has quite a story .. Enjoy…
Click here to read the original blog post.
Albums
Steven Isserlis – Tavener No Longer Mourn for Me
At once tough and inspiring, the cellist Steven Isserlis’s tribute to John Tavener, No Longer Mourn for Me (Hyperion), combines various musical forces, giving a chance to hear Tavener in his many creative guises. Isserlis is joined by seven fellow cellists in his own arrangements of Tavener’s serene Preces and Responses (2013) and his Shakespeare sonnet setting No Longer Mourn for Me (2010).
Click here to read the full article by Fiona Maddocks.
One Republic: Human
Known for its prominent cello lines, One Republic is scheduled to release its new album, Human, in December.
The current members of the band include frontman Ryan Tedder on lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards and percussion and Zach Filkins on guitar, viola and backing vocals, Drew Brown is on guitar, backing vocals, piano, keyboards and percussion whereas Eddie Fisher is on drums, percussion and guitar. Brent Kutzle takes care of the bass, cello, backing vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar and production and Brian Willett stays on keyboards, backing vocals, drums and percussion.
Click here to read the full article with videos, a tracklist, and more by Ashish Singh.
Brazilian Singer and Cellist Dom La Nena Reveals “Todo Tiene Su Fin” from Upcoming New Album
Brazilian-born, Paris-based singer, songwriter and cellist Dom La Nena (who also counts herself as one half of Birds On A Wire alongside singer Rosemary Standley) is just about ready to release her new solo album, Tempo, her first since 2015’s Soyo. As you might have gathered from the title, the new project is centred around the concept of time, focusing on specific moments of her life to create sonic snapshots.
Ahead of the album’s release in early 2021, she’s today revealing one of its singles, “Todo Tiene Su Fin”.
Click here to read the full article by James Keith.
From Upcoming Album, QUBIT – New Single by Riccardo Pes: Shooting Star
Cellist and composer Riccardo Pes launched the new single ‘Shooting star’ that will be included in his upcoming album QUBIT.
An Unreleased Arthur Russell Live Album Includes Early Versions of Classic World Of Echo Tracks
Sketches For World Of Echo: June 25 1984 Live At Ei is out on digital and cassette now.
The recording features Russell experimenting with amplification on his 18th-century cello and singing, often wordlessly. It includes early versions of enduring Russell songs like “Let’s Go Swimming,” “Keeping Up” and “Losing My Taste For The Nightlife,” as well as previously unheard pieces like “Sunlit Water.”
Click here to read the full article.
Videos
Lori Goldston “Serenade”
Phenomenal cellist and composer Lori Goldston has a resume that includes performing with Nirvana on their 1993 “MTV Unplugged in New York” concert. She delivers this riveting performance of her song “Serenade.” Lori’s latest record, “On a Moonlit Hill in Slovenia,” is available on band camp.
Cellist Michael Heupel plays Dall’Abaco
Michael Heupel, Cellist from Gothamfotografia on Vimeo.
Peter Child: Tapamveni for Solo Cello Performed by Cellist Jan Müller-Szeraws
The Music Department of the College of the Holy Cross presents a multimedia project centered around “Tapamveni”, a piece for solo cello by Peter Child, composer and Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The piece is inspired by ancient rock art of the indigenous people of the North American southwest. The project merges the performance of ‘Tapamveni’ by artist-in residence Jan Müller-Szeraws with images by Ekkehart Malotki, Professor Emeritus of Northern Arizona University, author and expert of Hopi language and culture.
Click here to go to the original article.
Seven by Andrea Casarrubios Performed by Cellist Thomas Mesa
This work is one of three works from Songs of Isolation, a project aimed at illuminating important voices in this immensely challenging time across the globe. The three composers writing solo cello works for this project are Andrea Casarrubios, Stephanie Ann Boyd, and Carlos Simon. SEVEN (2020) by Andrea Casarrubios is a tribute to the essential workers during the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to those who lost lives and are still suffering from the crisis. The piece ends with seven bell-like sounds, alluding to New York City’s daily 7PM tribute during the lockdown – the moment when New Yorkers clapped from their windows connecting with each other and expressing appreciation for those on the front lines.
Jean-Guihen Queyras: Bach Cello Suites – Suite 4, Bourrées
Jean-Guihen Queyras: Bach Cello Suites – Suite 4, Bourrées from IDAGIO on Vimeo.
Jean-Guihen Queyras takes us on a journey into the secrets of one of the most famous works for cello solo. In this episode, Jean-Guihen explores how to overcome technical challenges and focus on the pulse. His guest in this episode is Viennese conductor Sascha Goetzel.
Your Turn
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