THrEe CeLLo nErdS aRe wE!!

It's become something of a ritual for my fellow Cello Nerd Joan and I to trek south to Town Hall in Seattle each spring to hear our favorite cellist, Joshua Roman perform. In 2006, at the tender age of 22 years, Joshua had the honor of being the Seattle Symphony's principle cellist for two seasons before embarking on his own solo career. Though the Oklahoma native now makes his home in New York City, he continues to be Town Hall's Artistic Director which provides reason for frequent visits, and performances, in Seattle.

Tonight's program was to include two complete Bach solo suites. Which two of Bach's six solo suites for cello would be performed was determined by an online poll. The final tally came in late last night with Suite #1 and Suite #6 the most popular choices. What this means is that Roman had to have ALL six suites memorized and ready to perform at a moment's notice. For anyone familiar with these pieces, you can appreciate that feat!

The evening concluded with Town Hall turning up the lights and serving champagne to the entire audience while Joshua Roman dazzled us with two extra movements from Suite #5 and Suite #4. A delightful evening, for sure, but on top of all this fun, Joan and I will also be observing a free masterclass in Bellingham later this week where Joshua Roman will be working with several cello students from our local university. By now you are perhaps getting a sense of what true cello nerdism looks like.

For your listening pleasure - Dvorak's Cello Concerto, mvt 1