Jonah Ellsworth,
cellist
www.jonahellsworth.com
Critics
have certainly taken notice of cellist Jonah Ellsworth after solo
performances with the Boston Symphony, Akron Symphony, Jacksonville
Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, and New Bedford Symphony, among others.
Ellsworth has been referred to as “a kind of unrepentant Tannhauser”
and “a player to watch,” by the Boston Globe and Clevelandclassical.com.
The Boston Musical Intelligencer wrote that he is “fearless [with
a] complete range of expressive richness” All of these quotes were
earned after performances of the Saint-Seans Cello Concerto with
the Boston Philharmonic, the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Akron
Symphony, and his performance of Strauss’ Don Quixote and Dvorak
Cello Concerto with the Boston PhilharmonicYouth Orchestra.
Jonah was featured as a soloist with the New Bedford Symphony on
their regular subscription series in 2012, performed as a soloist
with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall, with Symphony
Pro Musica, and with Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra under the baton
of the late Gunther Schuller. As the winner of the NEC's lower strings
concerto competition, Jonah performed the Elgar Cello Concerto with
the NEC Philharmonia in March of 2016. Jonah attended the Marlboro
Music Festival in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
When Jonah recently performed Strauss’ Don Quixote with Zander and
the BPYO in Europe, former Boston Globe critic Richard Dyer wrote
“Ellsworth’s grasp of what the notes mean, of the stories they tell,
of the feeling behind and within the notes, is firm, and very deep.
His playing of some of the quieter episodes, the yearning that Don
Q feels for the idealized Dulcinea, was profoundly moving, and there
was plenty of rambunction as he tilted against windmills and scattered
sheep.” His performance of the Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with
YPO in Slovakia prompted the critic from Boston Musical Intelligencer
to write, “…Any praise of Jonah’s technical abilities is likely
to be an understatement. He is completely assured and intensely
musical; each of the variations had a distinctive character and
tone color… This is a young man on the verge of an international
career.” Jonah is also a member of the Boston Philharmonic cello
section.
Jonah was finalist of the 2011 Stulberg International String Competition
in Michigan, and received a prize from the Harvard Musical Association
in 2012. Jonah appeared on the PBS TV show of the “From the Top”
taped live in Carnegie Hall in New York City which has been broadcast
on PBS stations nationwide. Jonah has studied with Laurence Lesser
at New England Conservatory and Peter Wiley at Curtis Institute
of Music. Other teachers include Andrew Mark and Natasha Brofsky.
He has attended Meadowmount Music School where he studied with Hans
Jansen, Greenwood Music Camp, Orford Arts Center in Canada. Jonah
was recently invited to join the critically acclaimed Boston Trio.
With the trio, he performed Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the
Boston Phiharmonic in the 2016-17 season. Another highlight of the
2016-2017 season included a performance of the Brahms Double Concerto
with violinist Yoojin Jang with Symphony by the Sea.
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