Nicholas Canellakis — Cello

Praised by The New Yorker as a “superb young soloist” and by The New York Times for his “rich, alluring tone,” Nicholas Canellakis has established himself as one of the most sought-after and versatile cellists of his generation. A multifaceted artist, he combines his work as soloist, chamber musician, curator, composer-arranger, filmmaker, and teacher.

Canellakis has appeared as soloist with the Virginia, Albany, Delaware, Stamford, Richardson, Lansing, and Bangor Symphonies; the Erie Philharmonic; The Orchestra Now; and the New Haven Symphony as Artist-in-Residence, among many others. He performs widely in recital with longtime duo partner, pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown, with recent appearances at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Four Arts in Palm Beach, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and Wolf Trap.

An artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Canellakis performs regularly at Alice Tully Hall and on international tours, including engagements at London’s Wigmore Hall, the Louvre in Paris, the Seoul Arts Center, and the national concert halls of Shanghai and Taipei. He appears frequently at major festivals such as Santa Fe, Ravinia, Music@Menlo, Bard, Bridgehampton, La Jolla, Moab, Chamberfest Cleveland, and Music in the Vineyards. He also serves as Artistic Director of Chamber Music Sedona, where he has expanded programming and education initiatives.

Canellakis’s most recent album, (b)romance, featuring his original compositions and arrangements, was released on First Hand Records in 2023 and has surpassed one million streams on Apple Music. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory, his teachers included Orlando Cole, Peter Wiley, and Paul Katz. He began his Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center career as a member of the Bowers Program (formerly CMS Two) and was previously in residence at Carnegie Hall with Ensemble Connect. In 2023, he joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music.

Also active as a filmmaker, Canellakis has produced and starred in several short films and music videos, including his popular comedy web series Conversations with Nick Canellakis. His recent films Thin Walls and My New Cello have been featured at international film festivals.

He performs on an exceptional 1840 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume cello.