Andrés Arturo Celis Avila
Instrument: Cello
Studies:
Studies at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee
Biography:
Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Andrés is someone whose most characteristic qualities are curiosity and playfulness. These qualities helped to spark his interest in music from a young age after being exposed by way of his father playing a traditional Venezuelan instrument, the Cuatro. He started his musical studies at the age of 6 at the Conservatorio de Música Jose Luis Paz in Maracaibo, where he took music theory and solfege as his first classes and began his cello studies at 8 with former of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and cello professor Carolina Teruel.
In 2018, Andrés moved to the U.S. to continue his studies at New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL under the guidance of Aaron Merritt and Bryan Hayslett. In 2021, Celis was awarded a Presidential Scholarship to study at Boston Conservatory at Berklee with the esteemed cello professor Rhonda Rider.
Andrés has participated in summer programs such as the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Harvard Chamber Music Festival, The Cello Seminar, Cello Lab Miami, Virtual Summer Cello Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and has had masterclasses and lessons with cellists such as Gary Hoffman, Christine Lamprea, Richard Aaron, Patrice Jackson, Astrid Schween, Andrew Mark, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, among many others.
During his time at the Boston Conservatory, he has been performing solo recitals and joined the BPYO orchestra as well as BoCoCelli, a cello octet directed by Rhonda Rider, who recorded at the PowerStation at BerkleeNYC, a New York recording studio celebrated for sessions with such artists as Bruce Springsteen, Herbie Hancock, Bob Dylan and Madonna.
