Carter Brey — Cello

Carter Brey was appointed Principal Cello of the New York Philharmonic in 1996, occupying the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Chair. He made his official subscription debut with the orchestra in May 1997, performing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations under Kurt Masur, then Music Director. Since then, Brey has appeared as soloist with the Philharmonic almost every season. He was featured prominently in The Bach Variations: A Philharmonic Festival, performing the complete cycle of Bach’s six cello suites, and most recently appeared as soloist in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major at David Geffen Hall (February 2020) and at the Bravo! Vail Music Festival (July 2021), both under Jaap van Zweden.

Brey rose to international prominence in 1981 as a prizewinner in the Rostropovich International Cello Competition. He has received numerous honors, including the Gregor Piatigorsky Memorial Prize, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Young Concert Artists’ Michaels Award, and distinction as the first musician ever to win the Arts Council of America’s Performing Arts Prize.

As a soloist, Brey has appeared with nearly every major orchestra in the United States, collaborating with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Semyon Bychkov, Sergiu Comissiona, and Christoph von Dohnányi. He is also a member of the New York Philharmonic String Quartet, formed in the 2016–17 season, and he performs regularly with the Tokyo and Emerson String Quartets, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and at festivals including Spoleto (U.S. and Italy), Santa Fe, and La Jolla. With pianist Christopher O’Riley, he recorded Le Grand Tango: Music of Latin America for Helicon Records.

Brey studied at the Peabody Institute with Laurence Lesser and Stephen Kates, and at Yale University with Aldo Parisot, where he was both a Wardwell Fellow and a Houpt Scholar. He performs on a rare 1754 J.B. Guadagnini cello made in Milan. An avid sailor since childhood, he holds a Yachtmaster Offshore certification from the Royal Yachting Association.