Cellos in the News: Top Stories of the Week

Here’s your weekly dose of cello news.

Cello News

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Canadian Olympic Swimmer and Cellist – Joshua Liendo

Cellos in the News: Top Stories of the Week - 31 July

Canadian Olympic Swimmer Joshua Liendo also plays the cello!

Did you know that Canadian Olympian Joshua Liendo also plays the cello? He plans to study marine biology at university but enjoys playing the cello and double bass.

We wish Joshua Liendo the best of luck in all of his endeavors!

Do you know of any other Olympians competing this year who play the cello? If so, please let us know.

Click here to read the full story by David Grossman.

Zoë Keating on Life Off the Road and Being Nominated for an Emmy

This week, there was a wonderful article about cellist Zoë Keating who became an Emmy nominee this month. Oslo was nominated for two Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie, or Special.

Keating said in the article:

“Am I still an outsider if I have an Emmy nom? I feel like I snuck into the music industry by tunneling underneath and coming in through a hidden door.”

Although she is a fantastic cellist, she says that she still has stage fright:

“I’ve always had stage fright . . . I’d look at my hands and forget how to play the cello — that actually has happened before, . . . so I started closing my eyes as a way to cope. If I close my eyes, I’m invisible.”

Congratulations, Zoë Keating!

Click here to read the full story by Chris Farnsworth.

A Late-Starter Who Became a World-Class Cellist: Carter Brey

This week there was a wonderful interview with cellist Carter Brey on Violinist.com. Brey is a world-class cellist as a soloist, chamber musician, and principal cellist in the New York Philharmonic. However, he got a late start. In this interview, he discusses turning points in his life as a young student.

“I remember doing the Mozart D minor String Quartet, K. 421, and most importantly, the exposition of the Schubert Quintet in C major – the greatest chamber music masterpiece in existence. Believe it or not, he actually had a group of us doing this. We struggled through it for a year . . . I think the combination of that quality of music with the onset of puberty hit me like a ton of bricks . . . Suddenly I had to have this in my life, full-time.”

As a musician playing with ease in the roles of soloist, quartet cellist, and orchestral principal, he said of performing:

“Any kind of live music is all about listening . . . If you’re not listening, you shouldn’t be there. I find that there’s very little difference between being in a string quartet and being in an orchestra. The difference is that in an orchestra, there are greater physical distances involved and you’re also listening and interacting with woodwind, brass and percussion players, too.”

Click here to read the full interview by Laurie Niles.

Cello Sisters – Kathryn, Sofia, and Clare Fakeley

Three sisters from the Fakeley family finished in a top-three position within their age category for strings at the annual Canadian Music Competition. Sofia (left) finished first, Clare (middle) finished third, and Kathryn (right) finished first.

Three of four Fakeley sisters are cellists, and they all placed in this year’s Canadian Music Competition (CMC):

Kathryn, age 16: 1st place
Sofia, age 14: 1st place
Clare, age 8: 3rd place

Their mother said:

“We celebrated by each choosing a big bucket of our favourite ice cream.”

Congratulations, Kathryn, Sofia, and Clare!

Here is Kathryn playing the Piatti Caprice Op. 25, No. 7 in C major:

Click here to read the full story by Sean McIntosh.

R.I.P. Cellists

Dusty Hill, ZZ Top Bassist – and Former Cellist – Dies at 72

Possibly Dusty Hill in the Woodrow Wilson High School Orchestra. From Flashback Dallas.

Bassist Dusty Hill (19 May 1949 – 27 or 28 July 2021), best known for being ZZ Top’s bassist, died in his sleep at home at 72. Born Joseph Michael Hill, he played the cello when he was a Woodrow Wilson High School student.

See more high school photos here. Read his obituary here.

We offer our condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace, Dusty Hill.

Educator and Cellist Lois White – Dies at 95

Educator and cellist Lois White (4 August 1925 – 2 July 2021) died peacefully at 95 in Windsor, Vermont. She trained as a cellist and earned a Bachelor of Education degree at Drake University.

During WWII, she learned to fly, obtaining her pilot’s license in May 1944. She was accepted into the Women’s Army Service Pilots (WASP) program.

She taught music at Windsor High School (choir, orchestra, and band) from 1948-1986. She played the cello in the Vermont Symphony from 1948 through the 1980s.

We offer our condolences to her family and friends. R.I.P. Lois White.

Read her full obituary here.