Erica Wise CELLIST
Erica Wise, performer, teacher and artistic advisor has developed a versatile and vibrant career as a classically-trained cellist. Whether on stage as soloist, chamber or orchestral musician, her authenticity and passion is evident. Wise is a committed teacher, challenging her students to find their own voice and as an artistic advisor, she has helped develop festivals and arts organizations.
In an ideal world, musicians are repeatedly inspired by our surroundings. As cellists, we are introduced to the Bach Suites at an early age, and enriched by them for a lifetime. As composers, any study of Western music will be greatly influenced by the works and language of J.S. Bach. This recoding project aimed to encourage further dialogue between living composers, Bach and myself. LISTEN HERE
Love for chamber music developed early, first at places such as the Kinhaven Music School, and later at festivals such as Tanglewood, Kneisel Hall and Yellow Barn. A founding member of the Dalia Quartet, her numerous chamber music collaborations have always been a hugely influential part her life as a cellist.
As winner of the Nakamichi Cello Competition, she performed the Dvorak Concerto with maestro Michael Stern. Other solo performances have included the Walton Concerto with the NEC Symphony Orchestra in Jordan Hall and with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic under maestro Keith Lockhart.
Erica Wise has served as principal cellist for conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas and Seiji Ozawa among others, and has toured with the New World Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She is an artistic advisor for Da Camera and co-artistic director for Musethica España.
Actively engaged with the contemporary music of our time, she has given numerous world and Spanish premieres both as soloist and as a founding member of FUNKTION, a contemporary chamber ensemble based in Barcelona.
At the age of twenty-six, Wise stepped away from music and began pursuing a careen in medicine. She was accepted to the MD/PhD program at Washington University of Saint Louis, where she began medical school and did research in immunology. After four years away from professional musical pursuits, she realized that her true passion lay in music, and returned with a renewed sense of dedication to playing the cello.
Wise received a Bachelor Degree from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and a Masters Degree at the New England Conservatory. As a recipient of the Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship from the Fondation des Etats-Unis, Ms. Wise studied baroque cello with David Simpson at the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris.
She currently is Professor of Cello at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona.
