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University of Memphis "Cellobration" Cello Festival

cellobration flyer

 

The inaugural Memphis Cellobration, will take place on Saturday, April 19th, 2025, at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, University of Memphis. This event is open to cellists ages 11 and up, including lifelong learners, and will be a day of inspiration, learning, and community.

 

Event Highlights:

- Masterclass with internationally renowned cellist Zuill Bailey

- Masterclass with Dr. Kimberly Patterson

- Seminars led by members of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra

- A talk on performance anxiety and audition preparation by Memphis Grizzlies sports psychologist Dr. Chelsi Day

- Cello choir rehearsal to conclude the day

Students interested in performing in a masterclass with Zuill Bailey or a masterclass with Dr. Kimberly Patterson will need to submit a video of their chosen piece for consideration.

Please email a video of a piece of your choice by March 26th to kpttrsn5@memphis.edu

Information

Registration and Payment

The registration fee of $40 is due by Friday, March 28th.

Click to register and pay!

Cello Choir Music

 

 


 

Schedule

Download schedule >>

 

Festival Faculty


Kimberly PattersonKimberly Patterson (DMA), Cello

Hailed by the Chicago Sun Times as a "superb cellist," Dr. Kimberly Patterson has earned recognition for her artistry as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. Dr. Patterson was the founding cellist for the Tesla Quartet, winners of the 2012 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition as well as prizewinners of the 2012 London International Quartet Competition and the 2013 Bordeaux International Quartet Competition. She has given chamber recitals  in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, London's Wigmore Hall and Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center and has held chamber music residencies with Strings Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Bravo! Vail Valley, Chamber Music Tulsa, and a quartet residency at the University of Colorado at Boulder with the Takács Quartet.

Dr. Patterson is the Assistant Professor of Cello at the University of Memphis and the cellist of the Ceruti Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Memphis. She is also the cellist of the Patterson / Sutton cello and guitar duo. Their debut album, "Cold Dark Matter: Music for Cello & Guitar," was released by MSR records in 2013. The Patterson / Sutton duo have presented lectures at the International Guitar Research Center in Surrey, UK and the Guitar Foundation of America National Convention. In addition, Dr. Patterson's lecture paper was published as the cover article in the February 2016 edition of Soundboard Magazine, an academic journal. Their performances have been broadcasted on American Public Media's, Performance Today, in addition to Radio New Zealand and South Africa's Fine Music Radio among others.

As a soloist, Dr. Patterson has appeared with the Manila Symphony of the Philippines, toured nationally with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company performing a solo piece by David Lang, and presented solo recitals in the Netherlands, Afghanistan and throughout the United States. Festival appearances include the Verbier Festival, Strings Music Festival, Holland Music Sessions, Aspen Music Festival & School, Sarasota Music Festival & the Miyazaki Festival. In addition to her extensive chamber music career, Dr. Patterson was a member of the Colorado Symphony. She has performed as principal cellist with Verbier Orchestra in Switzerland and world tours and the Juilliard Orchestra. She has also performed with the Utah Symphony, Iris Orchestra, Central City Opera, the New Haven Symphony and was personally invited by Charles Dutoit to perform with the Miyazaki Orchestra in Japan. Dr. Patterson is a strong believer in the transformative power of music education. Kimberly was a graduate assistant to the renowned Takács Quartet at the University of Colorado at Boulder and has given chamber music masterclasses around the country at institutions such as the University of Denver, Colorado Mesa University, University of Utah, Ball State University, Colorado State University and University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg. In addition to collegiate teaching, she has instructed inner-city students as a fellowship recipient of her alma mater, the Juilliard School, as well as students of the Aspen Music Festival and School's M.O.R.E Program. With support from the United States' State Department, Dr. Patterson taught and performed as a guest artist at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul in early 2014. She has also instructed cellists of the Manila Symphony Orchestra in the Philippines. Dr. Patterson serves on the board of the Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestras.

Dr. Patterson's students have won positions with Orchestra Iowa and the Guangzhou Symphony. In addition, students have attended Carnegie Hall's National Youth Orchestra, the Tanglewood Institute, All-National Youth Orchestra, and Colorado and Tennessee All State Orchestras. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music with academic honors, Dr. Patterson earned her Master's of Music Degree at the Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her teachers include Richard Aaron, Andras Fejer, Judith Glyde and Stephen Geber.


bailey

Zuill Bailey

Zuill Bailey, widely considered one of the premiere cellists in the world, is a Grammy Award winning, internationally renowned soloist, recitalist, Artistic Director and teacher.  His rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry and engaging personality has made him one of the most sought after and active cellists today.

Mr. Bailey has been featured with symphony orchestras and music festivals worldwide.  He won the Best Solo Performance Grammy Award in 2017, for his recording of  Michael Daugherty’s “Tales of Hemingway,” with the Nashville Symphony led by Giancarlo Guerrero.  His extensive discography includes his newest release – the world premier recording of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Cello Concerto with the Santa Rosa Symphony. In 2021 he released his second recording of the Bach Cello Suites for PS Audio’s Octave Records label, recorded and mixed in stereo and multichannel sound.

He appeared in a recurring role on the HBO series “Oz,” and has been heard on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “Tiny Desk Concert,” “Performance Today,” “Saint Paul Sunday,” BBC’s  â€śIn Tune,” XM Radio’s “Live from Studio II,” Sirius Satellite Radio’s “Virtuoso Voices,” and his latest disc of Bach Suites was the disc of the week on Sirius’ Symphony Hall.

Mr. Bailey received his Bachelor’s Degree from the Peabody Conservatory where he was named the 2014 Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Alumni, and received a Master’s Degree from the Juilliard School.  He performs on the “rosette” 1693 Matteo Gofriller Cello formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet.

He is the Artistic Director of El Paso Pro-Musica (Texas), the Sitka Summer Music Festival/Series and Cello Seminar, (Alaska), Juneau Jazz and Classics, (Alaska), the Northwest Bach Festival (Washington),  Classical Inside Out Series- Mesa Arts Center (Arizona) and is Director of the Center for Arts Entrepreneurship and Professor of Cello at the University of Texas at El Paso.

 

Ruthie Burgess, Principal Cello, Memphis Symphony Orchestra

Hannah Schmidt, Cello, Memphis Symphony Orchestra

Lisandro Acosta, Cello Fellow, Memphis Symphony Orchestra

Dr. Chelsi Day, Sports Psychologist for Memphis Grizzlies