About Barbara
I'm a cello teacher and professional cellist who worked in the Washington-Baltimore area for over 40 years, and am now living in Santa Fe, New Mexico as of January 2024. My solid educational background and extensive experience, both performing and teaching, have provided me with the knowledge and skills necessary to be an exceptional cello teacher. I'm dedicated to providing a quality education to my students.
Education
I hold Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Cello Performance from the University of Maryland, where I studied with Evelyn Elsing, Oliver Edel and David Soyer of the Guarneri String Quartet. I won first prize in the SAI graduate level competition and a Guarneri String Quartet fellowship and studied with all the members of that distinguished quartet during my graduate studies.
Teaching Experience
I have over 40 years of experience teaching private cello lessons to students in my home studio in the Washington, D.C. area before my recent move to New Mexico. As a well-respected and sought-after teacher and competition judge in the Washington, D.C. area I kept a studio of at least 25 students, half of which were adults. I also coached student chamber music groups and cello sections of both youth orchestras and adult amateur orchestras. I have taught the cello class for education majors at the University of Maryland. Due to the Pandemic I began teaching online via Zoom and have continued to do so for those who cannot come to my studio for in-person lessons.
Student's Accomplishments
A number of my students have earned places in local youth orchestras and some have been accepted into university music schools. Three of my students have become principal cellist of the top level of Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras (MCYO). Two students won the principal cellist chair of the Maryland All-State high school orchestra. Many students have participated and won prizes at the Maryland Solo Festival and the MSMTA Festival. I have graduating students who have gone on to study music at Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Maryland.
Cello Performance
I performed regularly throughout the Washington-Baltimore area as a freelance cellist before my move to New Mexico. Over the years I have performed with many of that area's top orchestras and ensembles. I performed with the Opera House Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for 7 years and then was the principal cellist with the Baltimore Opera for 5 years. I played in the National Gallery of Art Orchestra for 17 years, including two as principal. Until my move to Santa Fe, I was the principal cellist of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and a member the National Philharmonic. Over the years I have also performed with The American Pops Orchestra, Maryland Lyric Opera, Concert Artists of Baltimore, the National Cathedral Orchestra and the Wolf Trap Orchestra.
I have performed with a number of rock and pop artists, notably Aretha Franklin, Lyle Lovett, Vince Gill, Dionne Warwick, George Benson, Andrea Boccelli, Clay Aiken, The Moody Blues, The Who, Yes, Mannheim Steamroller, Judy Collins, Sheena Easton and Ray Charles. I appear on CDs from Maple Shade, a jazz label, with artists such as Keter Betts. My discography also includes three CDs from the Taliesin Orchestra, and two solo tracks on Leslie Uggams' CD titled “On My Way to You”. I have played runs of shows such as Cats at the National Theater, Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera at the Kennedy Center, West Side Story and Peter Pan at Wolf Trap and Yul Brynner's last run of The King and I.
Business Owner
I am the founder and owner of Apprentice Music, a company that produces recordings and tools for developing musicians. After years of hearing my students' frustrations concerning the lack of available recordings of the literature they were studying, I decided to create those recordings myself. I created a company to provide those recordings along with other helpful tools for my students and other interested musicians. Apprentice Music currently has available 4 CDs of student level cello repertoire, a Chromatic Cello drone disk, a Scale Reference Guide for Cello along with some sheet music for cello.
