“Praised by renowned cellist Lynn Harrell as a cellist with “an inspiring vision, originality of musical thought and a wonderful command of the cello.”

Cellist Sihao He first came into international prominence in 2008 as a 14-year old cellist winning first prize at the International Antonio Janigro Cello Competition in Croatia. Later that same year, he sealed his great promise by winning the National Cello Competition in his native China. He is also the Grand Prize winner of the prestigious 3rd Gaspar Cassadó International Cello Competition in Japan, a laureate of the Queen Elizabeth International Cello Competition and Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. In 2019, he won 3rd prize in Munich’s ARD International Music Competition.

Sihao has appeared in numerous concerts both as a soloist with leading orchestras and in recitals. After winning the Grand Prize at the 3rd Gaspar Cassado Competition he performed a recital tour in Japan and China. His recital in Tokyo’s Yomiuri Otemachi Hall music Critic Masahiko Yu wrote the following in his review: “First prize winner of the 3rd Cassado competition Shanghai born cellist Sihao He is a big scaled splendid cellist who played a very technically demanding program like a magician”.

In the US, important performances took place before audiences at the Metropolitan Museum, the U.S Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington D.C and a recital at the Myra Hess Concert series in Chicago.

As a soloist, Sihao has performed with many leading orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Münchener Kammer orchester, Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Orquestra the Sinfônica de Piracicaba in Brazil, and the Xiamen Philharmonic in China.

In March 2020, Sihao was chosen to be a member of the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s The Bowers Program (formerly CMS Two).

As a chamber musician, Sihao appeared at the Shanghai New Music Week, the Shanghai Electronic Music Week, in the US at the Music@Menlo and in Europe at the Rome festival. He has performed together with Joseph Silverstein, Pinchas Zuckerman, Donald Weilerstein, Cho-Liang Lin and the Calidore Quartet. Before coming to the US his string Quartet, Simply Quartet, won first prize at the Haydn Invitational Chamber Music Competition in Shanghai, China and was awarded “The Most Promising Young String Quartet” at the 4th Beijing International Chamber Music Competition.

Born in Shanghai, China, Sihao He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University where he studied with Hans Jorgen Jensen and Julie Albers, and a Master’s Degree from the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. Mr. He is currently attending the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University for his D.M.A. degree under the tutelage of Hans Jørgen Jensen.

In addition to playing the cello, Sihao is a brilliant Snooker and Billiard player.

Luiz Fernando Venturelli is a Brazilian cellist who is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the most promising young musicians of the country. He received his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in 2021 and is currently a first year master’s student under Professor Hans Jensen. Born and raised in a musical family, Luiz began his musical studies at the age of 3 and began playing the cello when he was 8. He studied at the Instituto Baccarelli, a non-profit organization that offers free music lessons to children, from the time he was 8 until he came to the United States when he was 17. Luiz is a member of the Galvin Cello Quartet, formed in 2021 at the Bienen School of Music, which recently won the silver medal at the 2021 Fischoff Competition. Luiz has been a prize winner in multiple competitions including the Paulo Bosisio competition, the Thaviu String competition at Northwestern University, the concerto competitions of the Orquestra Filarmônica de Goiás and OSESP and the 24th annual Sphinx competition. As a soloist, Luiz has performed with a number of orchestras in Brazil, including the Symphony Orchestra of São Paulo, the Bahia Symphony, the Goiás Philharmonic, the Espírito Santo Symphony, the Campinas Symphony, the Piracicaba Symphony, the Heliópolis Symphony, the São Paulo University Symphony and the SESI Chamber Orchestra. Luiz is also a huge enthusiast of other kinds of music, having led a rock band and played and recorded with multiple artists in Brazil.

Korean-American cellist Sydney Lee is an emerging young artist captivating audiences on the international stage. Capturing 1st prize at the 2022 Washington International Competition and 2nd prize at the Classic Strings International Competition, Sydney has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe in many of the world’s leading venues, including Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, the Palladium at the Center for Performing Arts, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, New World Center in Miami, Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall, Carnegie Hall, Euphrasian Basilica, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Fryderyk Chopin University Hall in Warsaw. A prizewinner at many competitions, she also received 1st prize at the International Antonio Janigro Cello Competition in Croatia, 2nd prize at the Lennox International Young Artists Competition, and was a winner of the New York Classical Music Society Recital Series, where she was awarded a solo recital engagement in New York City. Sydney was a finalist of the National YoungArts Foundation and was subsequently named a 2015 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. Moreover, she was the recipient of the 2015 Korean Honors Scholarship, awarded by the South Korean Embassy in Washington D.C.

Recent engagements include an appearance with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, where Sydney was praised by renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, “Sydney Lee’s playing of Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante was mesmerizing. She surmounted all of its technical challenges with ease and gave us a joyous musical experience. It was a performance to treasure.” Previous engagements include performances with the Zagreb Soloists, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, and Monmouth Symphony Orchestra.

An avid chamber musician, recent chamber music performances as part of the Curtis on Tour initiative have taken her on three national and international tours in numerous cities across China, Hong Kong, United States, Germany, and Poland. Sydney was also appointed principal cellist of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra for 2019-20, ending the season with a tour across the United States.

Radio and television appearances include NPR’s From the Top, Croatian TV Istra, as well as Philadelphia’s WHYY public radios. As part of On Stage at Curtis on WHYY, Ms. Lee was featured on the episode Brilliant Playing and Superb Technique and Growing With the Music: Sydney Lee. Alongside her brother and cellist Noah Lee, Sydney was also featured on the sensational release of From the Top’s first animation music video, “Passacaglia Powerhouse Sibling Duo.”

Sydney has been selected to participate in various festivals, such as the International Music Academy in the Principality of Liechtenstein, CelloAkademie Rutesheim, and Kronberg Academy masterclasses, studying with Jens Peter Maintz.

A native of New York City, Sydney began the cello at the age of six with her mother, Soo Lee, and was accepted into The Juilliard School’s pre-college program less than two years later. Sydney completed her Bachelor’s at The Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Peter Wiley and Carter Brey. As the recipient of the Eckstein Scholarship and Dick and Helen Thomas Fellowship, she received her Master of Music degree and graduated with honors at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music under the tutelage of Hans Jorgen Jensen and will be continuing her studies there this fall, pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Other past influential teachers include Richard Aaron, Sophie Shao, Julie Albers, Minhye Clara Kim, and the mentorship of acclaimed cellist Lynn Harrell.

An advocate for arts education, Sydney currently serves as a Board of Director and Social Media Manager at The Back to Bach Project Charitable Foundation LTD, a global initiative to inspire music and arts education to young children and teach them the value of hard work and passion. She was a founding member since its inception in 2014 and served as Regional Director of the Philadelphia chapter as well as Director of Global Operations, where she planted the Calgary, Canada and Delaware County, PA regions. As part of the Community Artist Project at Curtis, Sydney created a three-way collaboration between Play on Philly, The Curtis Institute of Music, and The Back to Bach Project, under the guidance of Midori. On behalf of The Back to Bach Project, Sydney was selected as a 2020 Grantee from the U.S. Presidential Scholars Foundation and Alumni Association Seed Grant Program. Aside from performing, Sydney enjoys her work with The Violin Channel as a Content Assistant.

Born in 1999, Chinese-American cellist Haddon Kay began studying cello at the age of four. He first gained recognition when he became a finalist for the Chicago Symphony Young Artist Competition and performed the Barber Cello Concerto with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. The following summer, he became the principal cellist of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas for an international tour in Asia. Most recently, he has continued his studies in cello performance at Northwestern University under the tutelage of Professor Hans Jensen. He received his Bachelor’s degree in 2022 and will continue his Master’s studies at Northwestern as a recipient of the Eckstein Scholarship. Additionally, Haddon participated in the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium and was a winner of Northwestern University’s Concerto/Aria competition, after which he performed the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Victor Yampolsky. As a chamber musician, he has also appeared four times as a semi-finalist at the Fischoff Competition and has won 1st prizes at the Rembrandt and Discover Chamber Music Competitions with various groups. As the cellist of those ensembles he has also appeared on National Public Radio’s From the Top and on Chicago radio’s WFMT Introductions. In addition to playing the cello, Haddon is a brilliant volleyball player and is on Northwestern University’s men’s club volleyball team.