The Cello Sherpa Podcast

151 Episodes

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"No Spain No Gain" - An Interview with Cellist Suzana Stefanović, Principal of the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra in Madrid

2026-10-3036:26

A great music career is rarely the one you planned on paper, and Suzana Stefanović proves it. She grew up in Belgrade in a household full of music, records, and serious training, then left home young to study abroad and eventually became principal cellist of the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra in Madrid. Along the way she watched countries shift, borders harden, and opportunities open, and she learned how to keep moving without losing the point of the work. We also go deep int...

“Getting Down to Brass Tactics” – An Interview with Principal Trombonist, Craig Mulcahy and Bass Trombonist Chance Gompert, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

2026-10-1642:07

A top-level orchestra audition after a 16-year break sounds like a nightmare, until you hear how Craig Mulcahy rebuilt his process and walked away with the Principal Trombone seat in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Craig shares what pushed him to look beyond Washington, D.C., how uncertainty around the Kennedy Center changed his risk math, and why “audition shape” is a separate, intense kind of training even for seasoned principal players. Along the way, we get practical about the unglamorous...

"Suite Beginnings" - An Interview with Cellist Tate Zawadiuk, Viano Quartet

2026-10-0232:26

A world-class string quartet can look effortless on stage, but the reality is closer to running a small business with no off switch, and doing it with the same three people for years. We’re joined by cellist Tate Zavadiuk, founding member of the Viano String Quartet, to get honest about how a professional chamber music career is actually built: one relationship, one rehearsal, and one hard conversation at a time. Tate takes us back to his earliest days with the cello, Suzuki training, and the...

“Something Borrowed, Something Bach” - An Interview with Cellist Jennifer Kloetzel, and Violinist Peter Wilson, The BrickHouse Duo

2026-09-1838:32

Bach’s cello suites are some of the most recorded, most studied music ever written, which raises a risky question: can you add anything to them without breaking what makes them timeless? We explore that question with Brick House Duo, cellist Jennifer Kloetzel and violinist Peter Wilson, as they share the story and craft behind their album The Bach Wilson Project and the life partnership that powers it. Peter’s path is anything but standard: he spent 30 years as a Marine violinist with “...

"Defining Your Own Voice" - An Interview with Cellist and Composer, Sebastian Plano

2026-09-0432:48

He had the conservatory training, the orchestral chops, and the “proper” classical path laid out ahead of him, but Sebastian Plano couldn’t ignore the stronger call: make his own music. We sit down with the Grammy-nominated cellist and composer to trace the real turning points, from leaving Lisbon on a one-way ticket to Boston, to realizing that interpretation alone was not enough, to building a creative life where the cello becomes both voice and laboratory. We dig into the craft behin...

#box-pro-ellipsis-17945109082297{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}The Cello Sherpa Podcast