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Cello faculty:
Michal Shein
La violonchelista israelí-mexicana-estadounidense Michal Shein centra su trabajo en la curaduría de proyectos de interpretación interculturales e iniciativas educativas intensivas,
empoderando a la próxima generación de músicos. Es la fundadora y directora artística de Cellisimo, un festival virtual de violonchelo de alto nivel para violonchelistas hispanohablantes con recursos limitados que incluye clases intensivas con la profesora, clases magistrales con grandes profesores internacionales, sesiones de bienestar transformadoras y una construcción comunitaria de gran impacto. El festival ha sido descrito como "...uno de los festivales más
importantes y únicos de su género en América Latina” (- Álvaro Bitrán, violonchelista del
Cuarteto Latinoamericano). Los más de 68 alumnos que han participado en el festival provienen de países como México, Venezuela, Perú, Colombia, Honduras, Argentina, Brasil, Puerto Rico y más.
Una maestra en gran demanda, Michal es reconocida por su estilo pedagógico que nutre a sus
estudiantes con métodos pedagógicos efectivos para el avance musical holístico y elevado. Los estudiantes de violonchelo de Michal han sido ganadores en grandes concursos y han recibido admisión a los mejores festivales como BUTI Tanglewood, Brevard, YOLA Festival, Greenwood,
National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, programa BEAM, así como a los mejores conservatorios de Estados Unidos. Michal imparte con frecuencia clases magistrales en conservatorios y festivales internacionales. Michal frecuente también como juez en concursos importantes, como el
Concurso Internacional de Violonchelo en México, entre otros en Estados Unidos. Como oradora, ha sido invitada a la Conferencia Sphinx, El Sistema USA, New World Symphony, entre otros. En el 2023, fue nominada como “Mejor Maestro de El Sistema USA.”
En el otoño de 2023, Michal fue invitada a la facultad de New England Conservatory, para el programa esperado e innovador “Teaching Artistry Concentration.” En esta nueva capacidad,
Michal está entrenando a los gran músicos de hoy a cómo desarrollar una carrera diversa que
llevará impacto a audiencias y comunidades. Desde el 2019, Michal ha sido profesora y actualmente es encargada de la facultad de violonchelo en Boston String Academy, un
galardonado programa de cuerdas inspirado en El Sistema que sirve a alumnos de bajos recursos. Sus alumnos allí han participado en giras internacionales, festivales importantes de Estados Unidos y recientemente tuvieron su concierto debut en Carnegie Hall. Michal también mantiene una cátedra en la Universidad de Rhode Island, incluyendo alumnos de Cellisimo.
Michal ha formado muchos proyectos e iniciativas para integrar a audiencias a la música clásica. Uno de estos proyectos se llevó a cabo entre 2012-2017 en Oaxaca, México. Con el
gran apoyo de la Fundación Harp Helú y el Centro Cultural Santo Domingo, Michal creó múltiples residencias y un festival de cuerdas con la colaboración de sus distinguidas colegas la violinista Sharon Cohen, la violinista y compositora Shaw Pong Liu, y la violista Amelia Hollander Ames. Las residencias consistieron de conciertos diversos en pueblos alrededor de
Oaxaca, en mercados, en bibliotecas, museos, y más. El festival de cuerdas incluyó a alumnos de Esperanza Azteca y las universidades locales, ofreciendo clases magistrales, pláticas de
pedagogía, improvisación, entre otras.
Además de su diverso trabajo educativo, Michal mantiene una carrera como solista, violonchelista de orquesta y músico de cámara. De 2008 a 2013 fue violonchelista principal de
la orquesta de cámara Discovery Ensemble, al mismo tiempo que se sumergió en la interpretación barroca. Actualmente aparece con las orquestas y conjuntos de cámara más importantes en el área de Boston. Ha colaborado con Celebrity Series of Boston y actualmente tiene una nueva colaboración en dúo con el guitarrista galardonado Adam Levin. Como dúo, están lanzando un nuevo repertorio para violonchelo y guitarra recientemente arreglado,
incluyendo música de Vivaldi, Schumann, Andrea Casarrubios, entre otros. Realizarán varias giras con el nuevo repertorio en la temporada 2024-2025 en Estados Unidos en Boston,
Washington D.C., y Texas.
Michal recibió su licenciatura en Música de la Universidad de California en Berkeley, donde estudió con Irene Sharp y se graduó con honores. Después de sus estudios universitarios,
Michal recibió la beca de viaje Hertz y el premio Harriet Woolley para estudiar en París con
Gary Hoffman y Mark Drobinsky. Mientras estaba en Europa, también estudió con Antonio Meneses en la Accademia Chigiana di Siena. Michal recibió su maestría en New England
Conservatory, estudiando con Natasha Brofsky y se graduó con honores. En NEC, ganó el premio “Honors Trio” colaborando con la gran clarinetista Shirley Brill y el célebre pianista Jonathan Aner. Michal ha tenido el honor de participar en clases magistrales con Anner Bylsma, Anssi Kartunen, Bonnie Hampton, Jean Michel Fontenaeu, Steve Doane, Alexander Bailli, entre otros.
Michal vive en Boston con su esposo y dos niños pequeños.
empoderando a la próxima generación de músicos. Es la fundadora y directora artística de Cellisimo, un festival virtual de violonchelo de alto nivel para violonchelistas hispanohablantes con recursos limitados que incluye clases intensivas con la profesora, clases magistrales con grandes profesores internacionales, sesiones de bienestar transformadoras y una construcción comunitaria de gran impacto. El festival ha sido descrito como "...uno de los festivales más
importantes y únicos de su género en América Latina” (- Álvaro Bitrán, violonchelista del
Cuarteto Latinoamericano). Los más de 68 alumnos que han participado en el festival provienen de países como México, Venezuela, Perú, Colombia, Honduras, Argentina, Brasil, Puerto Rico y más.
Una maestra en gran demanda, Michal es reconocida por su estilo pedagógico que nutre a sus
estudiantes con métodos pedagógicos efectivos para el avance musical holístico y elevado. Los estudiantes de violonchelo de Michal han sido ganadores en grandes concursos y han recibido admisión a los mejores festivales como BUTI Tanglewood, Brevard, YOLA Festival, Greenwood,
National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, programa BEAM, así como a los mejores conservatorios de Estados Unidos. Michal imparte con frecuencia clases magistrales en conservatorios y festivales internacionales. Michal frecuente también como juez en concursos importantes, como el
Concurso Internacional de Violonchelo en México, entre otros en Estados Unidos. Como oradora, ha sido invitada a la Conferencia Sphinx, El Sistema USA, New World Symphony, entre otros. En el 2023, fue nominada como “Mejor Maestro de El Sistema USA.”
En el otoño de 2023, Michal fue invitada a la facultad de New England Conservatory, para el programa esperado e innovador “Teaching Artistry Concentration.” En esta nueva capacidad,
Michal está entrenando a los gran músicos de hoy a cómo desarrollar una carrera diversa que
llevará impacto a audiencias y comunidades. Desde el 2019, Michal ha sido profesora y actualmente es encargada de la facultad de violonchelo en Boston String Academy, un
galardonado programa de cuerdas inspirado en El Sistema que sirve a alumnos de bajos recursos. Sus alumnos allí han participado en giras internacionales, festivales importantes de Estados Unidos y recientemente tuvieron su concierto debut en Carnegie Hall. Michal también mantiene una cátedra en la Universidad de Rhode Island, incluyendo alumnos de Cellisimo.
Michal ha formado muchos proyectos e iniciativas para integrar a audiencias a la música clásica. Uno de estos proyectos se llevó a cabo entre 2012-2017 en Oaxaca, México. Con el
gran apoyo de la Fundación Harp Helú y el Centro Cultural Santo Domingo, Michal creó múltiples residencias y un festival de cuerdas con la colaboración de sus distinguidas colegas la violinista Sharon Cohen, la violinista y compositora Shaw Pong Liu, y la violista Amelia Hollander Ames. Las residencias consistieron de conciertos diversos en pueblos alrededor de
Oaxaca, en mercados, en bibliotecas, museos, y más. El festival de cuerdas incluyó a alumnos de Esperanza Azteca y las universidades locales, ofreciendo clases magistrales, pláticas de
pedagogía, improvisación, entre otras.
Además de su diverso trabajo educativo, Michal mantiene una carrera como solista, violonchelista de orquesta y músico de cámara. De 2008 a 2013 fue violonchelista principal de
la orquesta de cámara Discovery Ensemble, al mismo tiempo que se sumergió en la interpretación barroca. Actualmente aparece con las orquestas y conjuntos de cámara más importantes en el área de Boston. Ha colaborado con Celebrity Series of Boston y actualmente tiene una nueva colaboración en dúo con el guitarrista galardonado Adam Levin. Como dúo, están lanzando un nuevo repertorio para violonchelo y guitarra recientemente arreglado,
incluyendo música de Vivaldi, Schumann, Andrea Casarrubios, entre otros. Realizarán varias giras con el nuevo repertorio en la temporada 2024-2025 en Estados Unidos en Boston,
Washington D.C., y Texas.
Michal recibió su licenciatura en Música de la Universidad de California en Berkeley, donde estudió con Irene Sharp y se graduó con honores. Después de sus estudios universitarios,
Michal recibió la beca de viaje Hertz y el premio Harriet Woolley para estudiar en París con
Gary Hoffman y Mark Drobinsky. Mientras estaba en Europa, también estudió con Antonio Meneses en la Accademia Chigiana di Siena. Michal recibió su maestría en New England
Conservatory, estudiando con Natasha Brofsky y se graduó con honores. En NEC, ganó el premio “Honors Trio” colaborando con la gran clarinetista Shirley Brill y el célebre pianista Jonathan Aner. Michal ha tenido el honor de participar en clases magistrales con Anner Bylsma, Anssi Kartunen, Bonnie Hampton, Jean Michel Fontenaeu, Steve Doane, Alexander Bailli, entre otros.
Michal vive en Boston con su esposo y dos niños pequeños.
Santiago Cañón-Valencia
Colombian cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia is a prolific soloist, composer, curator, artist, painter, and photographer described as "technically impeccable... totally under the skin of the composer's language" (The Strad). A 2022 BBC Next Generation Artist, Cañón-Valencia was born in Bogotá in 1995 and made his orchestral debut as a soloist at the age of six with the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra.
Among his many accolades, Cañón-Valencia won a Silver Medal at the 2019 XVI Tchaikovsky Competition, received the 2018 Starker Foundation Award, third prize at the 2017 Queen Elisabeth International Competition, first prize at the Carlos Prieto International Competition, Beijing International Music Competition, Gisborne International Music Competition, Lennox International Young Artists Competition, and awards at the Sphinx, Casals, Johansen, Cassadó, and Adam competitions.
Cañón-Valencia's solo career has taken him around the world as a soloist with orchestras such as the Mariinsky Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, SWR Symphonieorchester, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony, Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra, and all of Colombia's major orchestras.
Upcoming highlights include his debut at London's Wigmore Hall and a recital at St. George's Bristol with pianist Naoko Sonoda, concerts with the New Generation Artist Showcase, radio broadcasts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra, a solo recital at the Teatro Massimo in Italy, debuts with the Danish Chamber Orchestra at the Cartagena Festival and the Belgrade Philharmonic, and appearances with the Latvian National Orchestra, Spain's RTVE Orchestra, and the Belgrade Philharmonic in Serbia.
In the United States, she has performed at the International Cello Institute, recitals at the San Diego Athenaeum, the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Massachusetts, and a return to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. She plays two dates in South Korea as part of the Mostly Cello Festival before returning to Colombia for concerts celebrating her latest album, Ascenso, with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia. In the summer of 2024, she will celebrate the Janos Starker centennial in Korea and Japan.
Cañón-Valencia performed the world premiere of Carlos Izcaray's Stringmaster cello concerto with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Colombian premiere of Ginastera's Cello Concerto No. 2 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the world premiere of Jorge Pinzón's Rhapsody to the Four Elements cello concerto at the Cartagena International Music Festival, and premiered Gulda's cello concerto with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra.
As a recording artist, Cañón-Valencia enjoys immersing himself in familiar and unfamiliar pieces, with a particular interest in commissioning new pieces, arranging pieces, and writing his own music. His debut release, Solo; an album with pianist Andrea Lucchesini dedicated to Schubert and Beethoven for the Egea Label; an album of Russian cello sonatas and popular pieces with pianist Katherine Austin for the Atoll Label; and his latest recording, Ascenso, released in November 2022 on Sono Luminus.
Cañón-Valencia has been sponsored by the Mayra & Edmundo Esquenazi Scholarship through the Salvi Foundation since 2011.
Among his many accolades, Cañón-Valencia won a Silver Medal at the 2019 XVI Tchaikovsky Competition, received the 2018 Starker Foundation Award, third prize at the 2017 Queen Elisabeth International Competition, first prize at the Carlos Prieto International Competition, Beijing International Music Competition, Gisborne International Music Competition, Lennox International Young Artists Competition, and awards at the Sphinx, Casals, Johansen, Cassadó, and Adam competitions.
Cañón-Valencia's solo career has taken him around the world as a soloist with orchestras such as the Mariinsky Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, SWR Symphonieorchester, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony, Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra, and all of Colombia's major orchestras.
Upcoming highlights include his debut at London's Wigmore Hall and a recital at St. George's Bristol with pianist Naoko Sonoda, concerts with the New Generation Artist Showcase, radio broadcasts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra, a solo recital at the Teatro Massimo in Italy, debuts with the Danish Chamber Orchestra at the Cartagena Festival and the Belgrade Philharmonic, and appearances with the Latvian National Orchestra, Spain's RTVE Orchestra, and the Belgrade Philharmonic in Serbia.
In the United States, she has performed at the International Cello Institute, recitals at the San Diego Athenaeum, the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Massachusetts, and a return to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. She plays two dates in South Korea as part of the Mostly Cello Festival before returning to Colombia for concerts celebrating her latest album, Ascenso, with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia. In the summer of 2024, she will celebrate the Janos Starker centennial in Korea and Japan.
Cañón-Valencia performed the world premiere of Carlos Izcaray's Stringmaster cello concerto with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Colombian premiere of Ginastera's Cello Concerto No. 2 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the world premiere of Jorge Pinzón's Rhapsody to the Four Elements cello concerto at the Cartagena International Music Festival, and premiered Gulda's cello concerto with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra.
As a recording artist, Cañón-Valencia enjoys immersing himself in familiar and unfamiliar pieces, with a particular interest in commissioning new pieces, arranging pieces, and writing his own music. His debut release, Solo; an album with pianist Andrea Lucchesini dedicated to Schubert and Beethoven for the Egea Label; an album of Russian cello sonatas and popular pieces with pianist Katherine Austin for the Atoll Label; and his latest recording, Ascenso, released in November 2022 on Sono Luminus.
Cañón-Valencia has been sponsored by the Mayra & Edmundo Esquenazi Scholarship through the Salvi Foundation since 2011.
Maria Martinez
Born in Madrid, María Martínez has spent most of her career in European countries and the United States. After studying at Trinity College London and the Musikhochschule in Cologne, Germany, she completed her studies at Indiana University, USA, with Janos Starker, where she became an associate professor in his department. Later, she continued with Colin Carr, with whom she became an assistant at Stony Brook University in New York. Simultaneously, she trained in the field of historically informed performance with Phoebe Carrai, Bruno Cocset, and Anner Bylsma.
She is the regular cellist with the ensemble Tiento Nuovo & Ignacio Prego, with whom she recently received a DIAPASON D'OR for her latest recording. She also collaborates with groups such as Música Boscareccia & Andoni Mercero, the Salamanca Baroque Orchestra, and La Spagna.
María has given concerts at festivals such as the Scottish Cello Festival, the Cheltenham Music Festival, London's Saint Martin in the Fields, Blackheath Halls, the Schlesswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the CNDM Series - National Auditorium of Music in Madrid, the Musika-Musica Festival - Euskalduna Palace, the Juan March Foundation, and more.
She has shared the stage with artists and ensembles such as Yo-Yo Ma, the Emerson String Quartet, Steven Isserlis, Maurice Steger, and Cecilia Bercovich, and performed under the baton of conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Clifford Colnot, Juanjo Mena, Jap Van Zweden, Harry Bicket, and Pablo Heras Casado, leading the cello section of orchestras such as the Navarra Symphony Orchestra and the ORCAM, among others. She has been a member of the Civic Orchestra (the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's school orchestra) and has given recitals and concerts as a soloist on tour throughout China, Europe, and the United States.
She teaches cello at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid and has taught at the Katarina Gurska Advanced Music Center.
This is her first year at Cellisimo.
She is the regular cellist with the ensemble Tiento Nuovo & Ignacio Prego, with whom she recently received a DIAPASON D'OR for her latest recording. She also collaborates with groups such as Música Boscareccia & Andoni Mercero, the Salamanca Baroque Orchestra, and La Spagna.
María has given concerts at festivals such as the Scottish Cello Festival, the Cheltenham Music Festival, London's Saint Martin in the Fields, Blackheath Halls, the Schlesswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the CNDM Series - National Auditorium of Music in Madrid, the Musika-Musica Festival - Euskalduna Palace, the Juan March Foundation, and more.
She has shared the stage with artists and ensembles such as Yo-Yo Ma, the Emerson String Quartet, Steven Isserlis, Maurice Steger, and Cecilia Bercovich, and performed under the baton of conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Clifford Colnot, Juanjo Mena, Jap Van Zweden, Harry Bicket, and Pablo Heras Casado, leading the cello section of orchestras such as the Navarra Symphony Orchestra and the ORCAM, among others. She has been a member of the Civic Orchestra (the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's school orchestra) and has given recitals and concerts as a soloist on tour throughout China, Europe, and the United States.
She teaches cello at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid and has taught at the Katarina Gurska Advanced Music Center.
This is her first year at Cellisimo.
Alvaro Bitran
Mexican cellist Alvaro Bitrán was awarded the Medal of Fine Arts by the Mexican government in 2000 and the Pablo Neruda Order of Merit by the Chilean government in 2014. He also won the Latin Grammy for Best Classical Album in 2012 and 2016 and has received six additional nominations for this award.
He currently divides his musical work into three main areas: the Latin American Quartet, pedagogy, and his solo career. In the latter category, he has performed with many of the leading orchestras in Latin America, the United States, and Canada, including the Mexico City Philharmonic, OFUNAM, and the National Symphony Orchestra in Mexico; the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela; the Dallas Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Seattle Symphony in the United States; and the National Arts Center Orchestra in Canada.
For many years, he has devoted himself enormously to teaching, developing an important generation of cellists in Mexico. He currently teaches at the Ollín Yolitzli Cultural Center in Mexico City, at the UNAM Faculty of Music, and at the National Conservatory of Mexico. He also frequently gives master classes at various universities and festivals, both in Mexico and abroad. He has served as a judge in several international cello competitions, such as the Carlos Prieto in Morelia (Mexico), the Bloomington, Indiana (United States), and the Luis Sigall Music Performance Competition in Viña del Mar (Chile).
In 1982, he founded the Latin American Quartet, a group that has received numerous awards in Mexico and abroad and today enjoys a prestigious international reputation. This ensemble regularly tours North and South America, as well as Europe, Israel, and New Zealand, and is actively recording more than eighty CDs. Among them are all the quartets by Alberto Ginastera and Heitor Villa-Lobos, as well as the first recordings of the complete quartets of Manuel M. Ponce, Silvestre Revueltas, Manuel Enriquez, and Rodolfo Halffter, among others. In 2007, he received the Diapasón d'Or award in France for his recording of Black Angels by composer George Crumb. Alvaro Bitrán has also recorded albums for cello and other instruments, including Canción sin Palabras (BMG), Instantes de Sol (Quindecim), Mi Chelada (URTEXT), and Viola de Gamba Sonatas by J. S. Bach (URTEXT).
Among the many theaters where he has performed are Carnegie Hall in New York, Alla Scala in Milan, the Concertgebow in Amsterdam, and the Royal Palace in Madrid, where he played the cello made by Antonio Stradivarius in 1697, which is property of the Spanish National Heritage.
During his many hours in airports and hotels, he has dedicated himself to writing articles, mostly about music, which have been published in newspapers such as La Jornada and Reforma, and in magazines such as Pauta, Escala, and Chamber Music America. He has also written two books published by the UANL: Postcards from Here and Notes of an Itinerant Cellist.
Alvaro Bitrán plays a cello made in Vienna in 1817 by Martin Stoss.
He currently divides his musical work into three main areas: the Latin American Quartet, pedagogy, and his solo career. In the latter category, he has performed with many of the leading orchestras in Latin America, the United States, and Canada, including the Mexico City Philharmonic, OFUNAM, and the National Symphony Orchestra in Mexico; the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela; the Dallas Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Seattle Symphony in the United States; and the National Arts Center Orchestra in Canada.
For many years, he has devoted himself enormously to teaching, developing an important generation of cellists in Mexico. He currently teaches at the Ollín Yolitzli Cultural Center in Mexico City, at the UNAM Faculty of Music, and at the National Conservatory of Mexico. He also frequently gives master classes at various universities and festivals, both in Mexico and abroad. He has served as a judge in several international cello competitions, such as the Carlos Prieto in Morelia (Mexico), the Bloomington, Indiana (United States), and the Luis Sigall Music Performance Competition in Viña del Mar (Chile).
In 1982, he founded the Latin American Quartet, a group that has received numerous awards in Mexico and abroad and today enjoys a prestigious international reputation. This ensemble regularly tours North and South America, as well as Europe, Israel, and New Zealand, and is actively recording more than eighty CDs. Among them are all the quartets by Alberto Ginastera and Heitor Villa-Lobos, as well as the first recordings of the complete quartets of Manuel M. Ponce, Silvestre Revueltas, Manuel Enriquez, and Rodolfo Halffter, among others. In 2007, he received the Diapasón d'Or award in France for his recording of Black Angels by composer George Crumb. Alvaro Bitrán has also recorded albums for cello and other instruments, including Canción sin Palabras (BMG), Instantes de Sol (Quindecim), Mi Chelada (URTEXT), and Viola de Gamba Sonatas by J. S. Bach (URTEXT).
Among the many theaters where he has performed are Carnegie Hall in New York, Alla Scala in Milan, the Concertgebow in Amsterdam, and the Royal Palace in Madrid, where he played the cello made by Antonio Stradivarius in 1697, which is property of the Spanish National Heritage.
During his many hours in airports and hotels, he has dedicated himself to writing articles, mostly about music, which have been published in newspapers such as La Jornada and Reforma, and in magazines such as Pauta, Escala, and Chamber Music America. He has also written two books published by the UANL: Postcards from Here and Notes of an Itinerant Cellist.
Alvaro Bitrán plays a cello made in Vienna in 1817 by Martin Stoss.
Andrea Casarrubios
Nominated for a 2025 GRAMMY® Award and acclaimed by the New York Times for playing “with a beautiful sound across a wide range of emotions,” cellist and composer Andrea Casarrubios frequently performs in various countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Her solo performances include concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall, the National Auditorium in Madrid, the Ravinia Festival, the Enescu Festival, the Brussels Cello Festival, and the Verbier Festival.
As a composer, her works have been commissioned and performed internationally by soloists and ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the Manhattan Chamber Players, and Sphinx Virtuosi, and are regularly broadcast on radio stations in Australia, Canada, Japan, Argentina, the United States, and Spain. Her new album, SEVEN works by Andrea Casarrubios, has received a 2025 GRAMMY® Award nomination.
Her most recent works include the iconic piece SEVEN, music that has reached more than 36 countries since its conception in 2020; Afilador (2022), a commission from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and Herencia (2023) for String Orchestra, written for the Sphinx Virtuosi tour and premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2023.
The Strad describes her music as “moving,” and according to the reviewer for the Cultural Voice of North Carolina, Andrea Casarrubios’s solo performance of her own MIRAGE Cello Concerto with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and conductor Christopher James Lees in 2025 was “memorable” and the “emotional center of the concert.”
Andrea Casarrubios began her studies with pianist and composer María Escribano. At the same time, she trained as a cellist with Maria de Macedo in Madrid. A Johns Hopkins University and University of Southern California student, she studied with Amit Peled and Ralph Kirshbaum. As part of her doctorate in New York, she also worked in composition with John Corigliano. As a professor, she has given master classes at the Juilliard School, the University of North Carolina, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the City University of New York, among other institutions.
This is her second year as composer-in-residence at Cellisimo.
As a composer, her works have been commissioned and performed internationally by soloists and ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the Manhattan Chamber Players, and Sphinx Virtuosi, and are regularly broadcast on radio stations in Australia, Canada, Japan, Argentina, the United States, and Spain. Her new album, SEVEN works by Andrea Casarrubios, has received a 2025 GRAMMY® Award nomination.
Her most recent works include the iconic piece SEVEN, music that has reached more than 36 countries since its conception in 2020; Afilador (2022), a commission from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and Herencia (2023) for String Orchestra, written for the Sphinx Virtuosi tour and premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2023.
The Strad describes her music as “moving,” and according to the reviewer for the Cultural Voice of North Carolina, Andrea Casarrubios’s solo performance of her own MIRAGE Cello Concerto with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and conductor Christopher James Lees in 2025 was “memorable” and the “emotional center of the concert.”
Andrea Casarrubios began her studies with pianist and composer María Escribano. At the same time, she trained as a cellist with Maria de Macedo in Madrid. A Johns Hopkins University and University of Southern California student, she studied with Amit Peled and Ralph Kirshbaum. As part of her doctorate in New York, she also worked in composition with John Corigliano. As a professor, she has given master classes at the Juilliard School, the University of North Carolina, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the City University of New York, among other institutions.
This is her second year as composer-in-residence at Cellisimo.
Christine Lamprea
Christine Lamprea is a dynamic cellist, "dedicated to the highest quality" (Palm Beach Daily News). After her Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist in 2013, she returned to Carnegie Hall and has also performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the National Symphony of Costa Rica, the Detroit Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the National Symphony of Michoacan, the New Jersey Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony, and Santa Fe Pro Musica, and has toured with Sphinx Virtuosi in the United States. Christine also appears in recital on major series such as Illinois’ Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Florida’s Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Pepperdine University, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Washington Performing Arts Society. In demand as a chamber music cellist, she frequently plays with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players and has collaborated with such great musicians as Shmuel Ashkenasi, Sarah Chang, Itzhak Perlman, Roger Tapping, and Carol Wincenc.
Christine explores many genres of music, as well as unconventional venues for concerts and education. Her "Suite of Songs from Colombia" includes arrangements of traditional South American music for cello and piano (or guitar), and has been performed at the Colombian Embassy and at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Christine has worked with members of the baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants and studied fortepiano sonatas with Audrey Axinn. She has given premieres of contemporary composers. Recently, she commissioned cadenzas for Haydn's D major concerto by composer Jessie Montgomery and premiered Jeffrey Mumford's cello concerto with the San Antonio Symphony.
Christine is on the faculty of the Longy School of Music at Bard College, as well as a substitute professor at the Juilliard School, and was on the faculty at Texas Christian University School of Music from 2018-19. She has given master classes at the Vivac-e Festival, the Idyllwild Arts Academy, the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, and others. Christine worked with students from Ecuador in Quito and Guayaquil, as part of a residency between The Juilliard School and “Sinfonia Por La Vida,” a social program inspired by El Sistema in Venezuela.
Christine Lamprea received the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans for her studies at the New England Conservatory, as well as a Sphinx MPower Artist Grant for her studies with the great cellist Matt Haimovitz. She studied with Bonnie Hampton at the Juilliard School and received a master's degree from the New England Conservatory with Natasha Brofsky. Other faculty members have included Lynn Harrell, Frans Helmerson, Philippe Muller, Ken Freudigman, and Ken Ishii.
Christine Lamprea has been a member of the Cellisimo faculty since 2021.
Christine explores many genres of music, as well as unconventional venues for concerts and education. Her "Suite of Songs from Colombia" includes arrangements of traditional South American music for cello and piano (or guitar), and has been performed at the Colombian Embassy and at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Christine has worked with members of the baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants and studied fortepiano sonatas with Audrey Axinn. She has given premieres of contemporary composers. Recently, she commissioned cadenzas for Haydn's D major concerto by composer Jessie Montgomery and premiered Jeffrey Mumford's cello concerto with the San Antonio Symphony.
Christine is on the faculty of the Longy School of Music at Bard College, as well as a substitute professor at the Juilliard School, and was on the faculty at Texas Christian University School of Music from 2018-19. She has given master classes at the Vivac-e Festival, the Idyllwild Arts Academy, the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, and others. Christine worked with students from Ecuador in Quito and Guayaquil, as part of a residency between The Juilliard School and “Sinfonia Por La Vida,” a social program inspired by El Sistema in Venezuela.
Christine Lamprea received the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans for her studies at the New England Conservatory, as well as a Sphinx MPower Artist Grant for her studies with the great cellist Matt Haimovitz. She studied with Bonnie Hampton at the Juilliard School and received a master's degree from the New England Conservatory with Natasha Brofsky. Other faculty members have included Lynn Harrell, Frans Helmerson, Philippe Muller, Ken Freudigman, and Ken Ishii.
Christine Lamprea has been a member of the Cellisimo faculty since 2021.
Angel Hernandez
"Angel is capable of producing one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard on the cello—warm, natural, round, noble, and perfect for the best possible cantabile." Giovanni Gnocchi, Professor at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
He was recently invited as Principal Cellist with the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra for the recording of an album of Mexican female composers, under the baton of Scott Yoo.
He was selected as Principal Cellist with the Korean National Symphony Orchestra's 2023 Academy Orchestra in Seoul, South Korea. As part of the Academy, he also performed at the historic Deoksugung Palace, playing P.I. Tchaikovsky's Souvenir di Florence alongside the Academy's most distinguished participants.
He has received various awards and recognitions for his participation in international competitions. In 2017, he won second prize in the New Docta international string competition held in Córdoba, Argentina, where he also won the award for best performance of a work from Argentina, with A. Ginastera's Pampeana No. 2. In 2018, he received the "Excellence Scholarship" for his outstanding participation in the Domaine Forget Festival, held in Quebec, Canada. He received an honorable mention for his participation in the Carlos Prieto International Competition, held in Morelia, Mexico, where he placed fourth in the 2019 competition.
That same year, he was invited to join the Sphinx Virtuosi Tour string orchestra, with which he toured extensively throughout the United States, performing at the most important venues in the country, including Carnegie Hall in New York, among others.
He has given solo and chamber music concerts in Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador, Canada, the United States, and South Korea. Alongside artists such as Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Rachel Barton Pine, Giovanni Gnocchi, Inbal Segev, Jennifer Stumm, among others. As an orchestral cellist, he has toured countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
In 2021, he participated as principal cellist in the recording of Lucha Libre by composer Juan Pablo Contreras, a work in which the first cello is one of the main characters. This recording was released under the Universal Music label and nominated for a Latin Grammy.
His participation in international festivals has allowed him to work with renowned maestros such as Gary Hoffmann, Phillipe Muller, Johannes Mosser, Colin Carr, Emmanuelle Bertrand, Andrew Mark, and Doo-min Kim, among others.
Angel Miguel Hernández began his musical studies at the age of 11 at the San Sebastián de los Reyes Music School, with cellists Carlos Cobos and Jean Carlos Coronado, and shortly afterward with maestro Andrés Herrera. In 2012, he joined the teaching of maestro William Molina Cestari and a year later was selected to join the cello section of the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela.
He is currently a member of the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra and Director of the Guadalajara International Music Festival, which he founded in 2021 and is an educational and philanthropic project that seeks to promote the development of young people in Mexico and Latin America.
He was recently invited as Principal Cellist with the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra for the recording of an album of Mexican female composers, under the baton of Scott Yoo.
He was selected as Principal Cellist with the Korean National Symphony Orchestra's 2023 Academy Orchestra in Seoul, South Korea. As part of the Academy, he also performed at the historic Deoksugung Palace, playing P.I. Tchaikovsky's Souvenir di Florence alongside the Academy's most distinguished participants.
He has received various awards and recognitions for his participation in international competitions. In 2017, he won second prize in the New Docta international string competition held in Córdoba, Argentina, where he also won the award for best performance of a work from Argentina, with A. Ginastera's Pampeana No. 2. In 2018, he received the "Excellence Scholarship" for his outstanding participation in the Domaine Forget Festival, held in Quebec, Canada. He received an honorable mention for his participation in the Carlos Prieto International Competition, held in Morelia, Mexico, where he placed fourth in the 2019 competition.
That same year, he was invited to join the Sphinx Virtuosi Tour string orchestra, with which he toured extensively throughout the United States, performing at the most important venues in the country, including Carnegie Hall in New York, among others.
He has given solo and chamber music concerts in Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador, Canada, the United States, and South Korea. Alongside artists such as Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Rachel Barton Pine, Giovanni Gnocchi, Inbal Segev, Jennifer Stumm, among others. As an orchestral cellist, he has toured countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
In 2021, he participated as principal cellist in the recording of Lucha Libre by composer Juan Pablo Contreras, a work in which the first cello is one of the main characters. This recording was released under the Universal Music label and nominated for a Latin Grammy.
His participation in international festivals has allowed him to work with renowned maestros such as Gary Hoffmann, Phillipe Muller, Johannes Mosser, Colin Carr, Emmanuelle Bertrand, Andrew Mark, and Doo-min Kim, among others.
Angel Miguel Hernández began his musical studies at the age of 11 at the San Sebastián de los Reyes Music School, with cellists Carlos Cobos and Jean Carlos Coronado, and shortly afterward with maestro Andrés Herrera. In 2012, he joined the teaching of maestro William Molina Cestari and a year later was selected to join the cello section of the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela.
He is currently a member of the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra and Director of the Guadalajara International Music Festival, which he founded in 2021 and is an educational and philanthropic project that seeks to promote the development of young people in Mexico and Latin America.
Temenuzhka Ostreva
She began her musical studies at the age of 6 in her hometown of Rousse, Bulgaria, and at 8 chose the cello as her primary instrument. At 16, she performed for the first time as a soloist with the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1986, she earned a master's degree in cello and chamber music from professors Z. Yordanoff and E. Bozhinova at the National Academy of Music in Sofia, and that same year she was invited to teach there. T. Ostreva was a professor at the Academy of Music until 1991. From 1991 to 1996, she was principal cellist with the New Bulgarian Opera, with whom she toured extensively in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Since 1997, she has lived in Monterrey, Mexico, where she has been principal cellist of the UANL Symphony Orchestra for 25 consecutive years. She retired in November 2022.
She is currently a cello teacher and string coordinator at the Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey.
Temenuzhka Ostreva has won several awards in national and international competitions, including the Grand Prize and gold medal at the 7th Svetoslav Obretenov National Competition in 1980, and in 1982, the First Prize and gold medal at the 8th edition, this time in the adult category. In 1983, she won two more First Prizes: at the Cello Competition in Honor of Prof. Sugarev and at the "Golden Diana" Chamber Music Festival as a member of the Klavier Trio. In 1984, she received First Prize in the cello section of Bulgaria's most important competition, the All-Bulgarian Competition, and Second Prize in the Chamber Music section. In 1986, she earned a semi-finalist diploma at the 8th International Tchaikovsky Competition held in Moscow.
T. Ostreva has been actively involved in concert: she has appeared as a soloist with the Rousse Philharmonic, Bulgaria, the Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Sofia, the OSUANL (National University of Buenos Aires), the Guanajuato Orchestra, and The Valley Symphony Orchestra in Texas, among others. He has participated as a recitalist and in various chamber music ensembles at the international festivals "Días musicales del mes de Marzo" in Rousse, Bulgaria; "Santa Lucia," "Parnassos," "Sala Beethoven," and "Alfoncino" in Monterrey; the Radio Nuevo León and Conarte seasons; the Festivals of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and the San Luis Potosí Desert Festival; the UN Forum of the Americas; the Nuevo León Composers Festival; and numerous educational concerts aimed at bringing classical music to young people in Nuevo León.
He has shared the stage with musicians such as Jean Luis Steuermann, Alexander Markov, Ophelie Galliarde, Carlos Prieto, Andreas Frölich, Cuauhtémoc Rivera, Alvaro Bitrán, Mirthala Salazar, Vanguel Tangarov, Nargiza Kamilova, and others.
Ostreva is a founding member of the "Sofia" string quartet and later of the Colegio Civil string quartet, which was created to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the renovation of the institution's building.
In 2009, together with pianist Nargiza Kamilova, she formed the Kamos Duo, with whom she has had highly successful performances in various forums and festivals. A monumental project was the presentation of the complete works of the great German composer L. van Beethoven in two concerts on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of his birth.
The Kamos Duo has shown interest in exploring and presenting works by women composers in concerts.
Ostreva is the founder of the National Cello Competition of the Colegio Civil, whose first edition was in 2010 and remains the only active national competition in the country. She has been invited as a member of the jury of the VII National Chamber Music Competition in Mexico City 2011 and the String Quartet Competition of the Latin American Quartet in February 2017.
She is currently a cello teacher and string coordinator at the Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey.
Temenuzhka Ostreva has won several awards in national and international competitions, including the Grand Prize and gold medal at the 7th Svetoslav Obretenov National Competition in 1980, and in 1982, the First Prize and gold medal at the 8th edition, this time in the adult category. In 1983, she won two more First Prizes: at the Cello Competition in Honor of Prof. Sugarev and at the "Golden Diana" Chamber Music Festival as a member of the Klavier Trio. In 1984, she received First Prize in the cello section of Bulgaria's most important competition, the All-Bulgarian Competition, and Second Prize in the Chamber Music section. In 1986, she earned a semi-finalist diploma at the 8th International Tchaikovsky Competition held in Moscow.
T. Ostreva has been actively involved in concert: she has appeared as a soloist with the Rousse Philharmonic, Bulgaria, the Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Sofia, the OSUANL (National University of Buenos Aires), the Guanajuato Orchestra, and The Valley Symphony Orchestra in Texas, among others. He has participated as a recitalist and in various chamber music ensembles at the international festivals "Días musicales del mes de Marzo" in Rousse, Bulgaria; "Santa Lucia," "Parnassos," "Sala Beethoven," and "Alfoncino" in Monterrey; the Radio Nuevo León and Conarte seasons; the Festivals of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and the San Luis Potosí Desert Festival; the UN Forum of the Americas; the Nuevo León Composers Festival; and numerous educational concerts aimed at bringing classical music to young people in Nuevo León.
He has shared the stage with musicians such as Jean Luis Steuermann, Alexander Markov, Ophelie Galliarde, Carlos Prieto, Andreas Frölich, Cuauhtémoc Rivera, Alvaro Bitrán, Mirthala Salazar, Vanguel Tangarov, Nargiza Kamilova, and others.
Ostreva is a founding member of the "Sofia" string quartet and later of the Colegio Civil string quartet, which was created to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the renovation of the institution's building.
In 2009, together with pianist Nargiza Kamilova, she formed the Kamos Duo, with whom she has had highly successful performances in various forums and festivals. A monumental project was the presentation of the complete works of the great German composer L. van Beethoven in two concerts on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of his birth.
The Kamos Duo has shown interest in exploring and presenting works by women composers in concerts.
Ostreva is the founder of the National Cello Competition of the Colegio Civil, whose first edition was in 2010 and remains the only active national competition in the country. She has been invited as a member of the jury of the VII National Chamber Music Competition in Mexico City 2011 and the String Quartet Competition of the Latin American Quartet in February 2017.
Horacio Contreras
Venezuelan cellist Horacio Contreras has collaborated with prestigious institutions in the Americas and Europe in concerts and masterclasses. His multifaceted career as a concert artist, chamber musician, pedagogue, and researcher has earned him international recognition. Highlights of his career include solo concerts with top Venezuelan orchestras, including the Simón Bolívar Orchestra and the Caracas Municipal Orchestra, the EAFIT Orchestra of Medellín in Colombia, the Camerata de France in France, and the Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra and the Music Institute of Chicago Chamber Orchestra in the United States; chamber music collaborations with members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and members of the Detroit, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin symphony orchestras; and masterclasses in Bloomington, Juilliard, Michigan, Oberlin, and the national convention of the American String Teachers Association. Recent collaborations include the recording of Ricardo Lorenz's cello works, the premiere of Reinaldo Moya's Diaspora for cello and piano, and the recording of Shuying Li's World Map Concerti with the Four Corners Ensemble.
Horacio teaches at Lawrence University, the Music Institute of Chicago, and the University of Michigan Center Stage Strings Summer Institute. His students have been accepted to summer festivals such as Aspen, Orford, and Domaine Forget, and have won awards in international and national competitions in the United States and Canada. They have also continued their studies at internationally renowned institutions. Some of his students enjoy successful careers as orchestral musicians, chamber musicians, and teachers in Europe and Latin America. Others have continued to enjoy their connection with the cello while devoting their energies to other activities.
Horacio is the artistic director of Strings of Latin America, which officially collaborates with the Sphinx Organization with the purpose of promoting diversity in the world of classical music. He is also co-author of the Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Cello Works, the largest existing database of information on Latin American cello works, created with support from the Sphinx Organization and CelloBello.org. His teaching book, Exercises for the Cello in Various Combinations of Double-Stops, has been recognized as a significant contribution to the instrument's literature. Horacio is a member of the Four Corners Ensemble and the Reverón Piano Trio. He began his musical studies in El Sistema and holds degrees from the Conservatoire National de Région de Perpignan, France, the Escola de Musica de Barcelona, Spain, and the University of Michigan in the United States.
Horacio teaches at Lawrence University, the Music Institute of Chicago, and the University of Michigan Center Stage Strings Summer Institute. His students have been accepted to summer festivals such as Aspen, Orford, and Domaine Forget, and have won awards in international and national competitions in the United States and Canada. They have also continued their studies at internationally renowned institutions. Some of his students enjoy successful careers as orchestral musicians, chamber musicians, and teachers in Europe and Latin America. Others have continued to enjoy their connection with the cello while devoting their energies to other activities.
Horacio is the artistic director of Strings of Latin America, which officially collaborates with the Sphinx Organization with the purpose of promoting diversity in the world of classical music. He is also co-author of the Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Cello Works, the largest existing database of information on Latin American cello works, created with support from the Sphinx Organization and CelloBello.org. His teaching book, Exercises for the Cello in Various Combinations of Double-Stops, has been recognized as a significant contribution to the instrument's literature. Horacio is a member of the Four Corners Ensemble and the Reverón Piano Trio. He began his musical studies in El Sistema and holds degrees from the Conservatoire National de Région de Perpignan, France, the Escola de Musica de Barcelona, Spain, and the University of Michigan in the United States.
Guillermo Turina
Guillermo began his cello studies at the age of three with Professor Arantza López, following the Suzuki method. He continued his training with María de Macedo and Miguel Jiménez, until he entered the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Music, specializing in cello, under the tutelage of Ángel Luis Quintana, Maite García, and David Apellániz. He also attended advanced music courses with Jaap ter Linden, Anner Bylsma, and Pieter Wispelwey.
After his undergraduate studies, he completed a Master's degree in Music in Orchestral Performance at the Barenboim-Said Foundation in Seville, as well as a Diploma in Advanced Training in Classical and Romance Orchestral Performance in Saintes, under the tutelage of Hillary Metzger and Christophe Coin. He furthered his studies at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, specializing in Baroque cello, with Bruno Cocset, Emmanuel Balsa, Andrew Ackerman, and Emilio Moreno, achieving the highest possible grades. He also earned a Master's degree in Music and in October 2019 received his doctorate cum laude from the Autonomous University of Barcelona for his thesis "The Cello in 18th-Century Spain."
During his career, he has played as a solo cellist in orchestras such as the Spanish National Youth Orchestra, the Jeune Orchester Atlantique, the Catalan Baroque Orchestra, Al Ayre Español, Nereydas, and the European Union Baroque Orchestra, where he has worked with maestros such as Philippe Herreweghe, Mark Minkowski, Jordi Savall, Rachel Podger, and Lars Ulrik Mortensen. His solo career has led him to perform both solo recitals and concerts with orchestra in various concert halls in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Argentina. He is a member of La Tempestad, Paperkite, and the Pérgamo Ensemble.
Furthermore, his work as a musicologist has resulted in two recent publications: critical editions and a study of cello methods written in Spain at the end of the 18th century, published by SEPTENARY editions, and the book La música entorno de los hermanos Duport (Music Around the Duport Brothers), published by Arpegio Publishing in Sant Cugat (Spain).
This is his first year with Cellisimo.
After his undergraduate studies, he completed a Master's degree in Music in Orchestral Performance at the Barenboim-Said Foundation in Seville, as well as a Diploma in Advanced Training in Classical and Romance Orchestral Performance in Saintes, under the tutelage of Hillary Metzger and Christophe Coin. He furthered his studies at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, specializing in Baroque cello, with Bruno Cocset, Emmanuel Balsa, Andrew Ackerman, and Emilio Moreno, achieving the highest possible grades. He also earned a Master's degree in Music and in October 2019 received his doctorate cum laude from the Autonomous University of Barcelona for his thesis "The Cello in 18th-Century Spain."
During his career, he has played as a solo cellist in orchestras such as the Spanish National Youth Orchestra, the Jeune Orchester Atlantique, the Catalan Baroque Orchestra, Al Ayre Español, Nereydas, and the European Union Baroque Orchestra, where he has worked with maestros such as Philippe Herreweghe, Mark Minkowski, Jordi Savall, Rachel Podger, and Lars Ulrik Mortensen. His solo career has led him to perform both solo recitals and concerts with orchestra in various concert halls in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Argentina. He is a member of La Tempestad, Paperkite, and the Pérgamo Ensemble.
Furthermore, his work as a musicologist has resulted in two recent publications: critical editions and a study of cello methods written in Spain at the end of the 18th century, published by SEPTENARY editions, and the book La música entorno de los hermanos Duport (Music Around the Duport Brothers), published by Arpegio Publishing in Sant Cugat (Spain).
This is his first year with Cellisimo.
Edgar Calderon
Venezuelan cellist Edgar Calderón is principal cellist of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and professor at the El Sistema cello school. He has performed with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, performing various repertoires, including the complete Beethoven symphonies on the most prestigious stages in Europe, and the Grammy Award-winning recording of Guaco Sinfónico.
He began his musical studies at the age of 8 with the cello. Later, in 1994, he joined the National Children's Orchestra of Venezuela, with which he toured extensively in Germany, Austria, Italy, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and the United States, among others. In 2002, he joined the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, where he has performed as a member of the cello section and with which he has conducted such maestros as Claudio Abbado, Sir Simón Rattle, Lorin Maazel, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Barenboim, among others. He has also appeared with the orchestra on the most prestigious international stages, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Southbank Center, KKL Luzern, Walt Disney Hall, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan, among others. He has participated in various recordings by the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Gustavo Dudamel for the Deutsche Grammophon label. He is a member of the Simón Bolívar Cello Ensemble, with which he has performed in various cities such as Rome, Berlin, Bohm, Buenos Aires, and Los Angeles, in addition to accompanying Maestros Robert Demaine and Alisa Weilerstein. He has received cello lessons from Maestros William Molina and Valmore Nieves at the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales. He has participated in Master Classes with Maestros Natalia Gutman, Jan Dieselhorts, Martin Menkin, Alisa Weilerstein, Adalbert Skosic, Horacio Contreras, Phillip Muller, Phillip Tribot, Arto Noras, and with ensembles such as the Berlin Philharmonic String Quartet and the Portland String Quartet, among others. He has appeared as a soloist with the Simón Bolívar Orchestra and Maestro Gustavo Dudamel.
Maestro Calderón will lead an important session on orchestral passages for Cellisimo students.
This is his first year at Cellisimo.
He began his musical studies at the age of 8 with the cello. Later, in 1994, he joined the National Children's Orchestra of Venezuela, with which he toured extensively in Germany, Austria, Italy, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and the United States, among others. In 2002, he joined the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, where he has performed as a member of the cello section and with which he has conducted such maestros as Claudio Abbado, Sir Simón Rattle, Lorin Maazel, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Barenboim, among others. He has also appeared with the orchestra on the most prestigious international stages, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Southbank Center, KKL Luzern, Walt Disney Hall, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan, among others. He has participated in various recordings by the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Gustavo Dudamel for the Deutsche Grammophon label. He is a member of the Simón Bolívar Cello Ensemble, with which he has performed in various cities such as Rome, Berlin, Bohm, Buenos Aires, and Los Angeles, in addition to accompanying Maestros Robert Demaine and Alisa Weilerstein. He has received cello lessons from Maestros William Molina and Valmore Nieves at the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales. He has participated in Master Classes with Maestros Natalia Gutman, Jan Dieselhorts, Martin Menkin, Alisa Weilerstein, Adalbert Skosic, Horacio Contreras, Phillip Muller, Phillip Tribot, Arto Noras, and with ensembles such as the Berlin Philharmonic String Quartet and the Portland String Quartet, among others. He has appeared as a soloist with the Simón Bolívar Orchestra and Maestro Gustavo Dudamel.
Maestro Calderón will lead an important session on orchestral passages for Cellisimo students.
This is his first year at Cellisimo.
Molly Gebrian
Dr. Molly Gebrian is a professional violist and scholar with a background in cognitive neuroscience. Her area of expertise is the application of research on learning and memory to musical practice and performance. Her book, "Learn Faster, Play Better: A Musician's Guide to the Neuroscience of Practice," was published in 2024 by Oxford University Press.
As a performer, she prioritizes works by living composers and those traditionally excluded from classical music culture. She holds degrees in music and neuroscience from Oberlin College and Conservatory, the New England Conservatory of Music, and Rice University. Previously, she was a professor of viola at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of Arizona. After a decade teaching viola at the university level, she joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in fall 2024 to teach courses on the science of practice.
Dr. Gebrian will lead a very special and important session on neuroscience and practice for Cellisimo students.
This is his first year at Cellisimo.
As a performer, she prioritizes works by living composers and those traditionally excluded from classical music culture. She holds degrees in music and neuroscience from Oberlin College and Conservatory, the New England Conservatory of Music, and Rice University. Previously, she was a professor of viola at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of Arizona. After a decade teaching viola at the university level, she joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in fall 2024 to teach courses on the science of practice.
Dr. Gebrian will lead a very special and important session on neuroscience and practice for Cellisimo students.
This is his first year at Cellisimo.
Wellness Team:
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