Cello
Dubbed a “Classical Rock Star” by the press, cellist Joshua Roman has earned a national reputation for performing a wide range of repertoire with an absolute commitment to communicating the essence of the music at its most organic level. Before embarking on a solo career, he was for two seasons principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony, a position he won in 2006 at the age of 22. For his ongoing creative initiatives on behalf of classical music, he has been selected as a 2011 TED Fellow, joining a select group of Next Generation innovators who have shown unusual accomplishments and the potential to positively affect the world.
Roman’s 2009–10 season engagements include debuts as concerto soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, as well as the Albany, Arkansas, and Santa Barbara Symphonies, the New Philharmonic Orchestra in Illinois, Oklahoma’s Signature Symphony, and Kentucky’s Lexington Philharmonic. In April 2009, he was the only guest artist invited to play an unaccompanied solo during the YouTube Symphony Orchestra’s debut concert at Carnegie Hall.
In addition to his solo work, Roman is an avid chamber music performer. He has enjoyed collaborations with veterans like Earl Carlyss and Christian Zacharias, as well as the Seattle Chamber Music Society and the International Festival of Chamber Music in Lima, Peru. He often joins forces with other dynamic young soloists and performers from New York’s contemporary music scene.
Roman pursued his musical studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Richard Aaron. Roman received his Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance in 2004, and his Master’s in 2005, as a student of Desmond Hoebig, principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra.
Walter Gray is in his 28th season as a member of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and has been featured several times as a soloist, most recently in the world premier of a new concerto by David Kechley. "Gray played with his usual intensity and flair...the cello's lyrical possibilites are realized."(The Seattle Times) Mr. Gray attended the Curtis Institute of Music and was a founding member of the Kronos Quartet. He has been on the faculty of Western Washington University, Cornish College of the Arts and in 1998-99 he spent a highly successful year as a member of the Artist Faculty at the University of North Texas.
Mr. Gray has recorded for Delos, CRI, New Albion, Klavier and Mode. He has also served as Recording Producer for the London Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Chamber Orchestra, New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, and the New Performance Group. As a founding member of the new music ensemble Quake, Mr. Gray produced and performed on the CD Seven Mirrors, music of Chinary Ung, on New World Records. Quake was featured last spring in a performance at the Zagreb Biennale, Zagreb, Croatia. During the summer Mr. Gray has performed at the Santa Barbara Chamber Music Festival. He has been Principal Cello with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra for 22 years and recently premiered Voice of the Wood, a concerto for cello quartet and orchestra by Russell Peck. He has also participated in the Marrowstone, Waterloo, Mostly Mozart, Mt. Gretna, Olympic, Cabrillo, and Tidewater Music Festivals.
 Ruth Marshall holds undergraduate degrees in Comparative History of Ideas and Music Theory, and minors in History and Russian Literature from the University of Washington in Seattle, where she graduated in 2007 with full college honors. In 2009, she earned a Master of Music degree in cello performance with distinction from DePaul University in Chicago, where she studied with Stephen Balderston. She has participated in the Festival-Institute at Round Top, Aspen Music Festival, New York University String Quartet Seminar, and the Banff Summer Masterclasses. Ruth is currently adjunct faculty at the DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, and has been on the faculty of the Butler University Community Arts School in Indianapolis. She is a full-time member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where she is the assistant principal cello.
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