| Kenneth Woods, cellist |
| Audio- Brahms Piano Trio in B Major op. 8, Mvt. IV Finale (Taliesin Trio) |
| Biography |
Cellist and conductor Kenneth Woods is fast becoming recognized as a
musician of rare versatility, equally at home as conductor, recitalist,
chamber musician and soloist. A founding member of the NEA Rural
Residency Grant winning Taliesin Trio, he has concertized throughout
the US and Canada, and has also been heard as soloist and chamber
musician throughout Europe and New Zealand. He has also been the
cellist of the Masala String Quartet from 1993-1999. He was artist-in-
residence, member of the Eastern Piano Trio while on the music
faculty at Eastern Oregon University from 1999-2002.
Concerto appearances include the Aspen Music Festival, the Grande
Ronde Symphony, Gonzaga Symphony, Boston Chamber Orchestra,
Lancashire Chamber Orchestra, Blue Mountain Festival Chamber
Orchestra, Oregon East Symphony, and the Madison Philomusica.
He has been heard in radio broadcasts on NPR and the CBC, and
recorded for Vienna Modern Masters. Festival appearances include the
Festival at Sandpoint, Great Lakes Chamber Festival, Luzerne
Festival in Switzerland, Schloss Weinberg Festival in Austria,
Chautauqua Institute, Domaine Forget Festival in Canada, Wallowa
Lake Chamber Music Festival and the International Festival
Institute at Round Top. Intensely committed to new music, Mr. Woods
has collaborated with such composers as Bruce Adolphe, Gerhard
Samuel, John Corigliano, Oliver Knussen, and Peter Lieberson, and
has given numerous premieres. As a cellist he has been recipient of the
Aspen Fellowship, and is the only person to have received the Dale
Gilbert Award, given annually to the “Outstanding String Performer in
the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music” in
consecutive years. Also while in Madison, he held the Strelow Quartet
Fellowship, as a member of the graduate quartet-in-residence. He has
played chamber music with members of the Chamber Music Society of
Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Cincinnati,
Chicago, New York Chamber and Toronto Symphonies, and the
Minnesota, Gewandhaus and Concertgebouw Orchestras.
Kenneth Woods plays a cello of Italian origin believed to be made near
Verona circa1635.
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| "Thank you for your excellent performance of my cello concerto "Eleanor's Gift" with the Grande Ronde Symphony Orchestra!!!!! Ken: please accept my warmest congratulations for your wonderful work! Your sound is shining, sweet, solid and powerful. I am very grateful for your strong support!” Composer Chen Yi Kenneth Woods was the second cellist to perform Chen Yi's first cello concerto. Her second cello concerto was commissioned by Yo-Yo Ma |
“His performance
of the Shostakovich
Cello Concerto No.
1 … showed
Kenneth Woods to
be a true virtuoso
cellist, as at home
as a soloist as in
his usual role as
conductor of the
Oregon East
Symphony.”
East Oregonian,
January 2005
of the Shostakovich
Cello Concerto No.
1 … showed
Kenneth Woods to
be a true virtuoso
cellist, as at home
as a soloist as in
his usual role as
conductor of the
Oregon East
Symphony.”
East Oregonian,
January 2005
| "Handled the technical challenges of several gems of the repertoire with relative ease. "Dvorak and Shostakovich- masterworks masterfully played" Durango Herald, July 4, 2006 |
“A beautifully
controlled
performance of
Messiaen’s
“Quartet for the
End of Time.”
The Halifax Mail-
Star
controlled
performance of
Messiaen’s
“Quartet for the
End of Time.”
The Halifax Mail-
Star
| Upcoming Performances! Solo Recital Pendleton Art Center January 15, 2006 Elgar Cello Concerto Oregon East Symphony Feb 25, 2007 |
| (Click for downloadable headshot) |
| Photo- EJ Harris for the East Oregonian |
| Photo- EJ Harris for the East Oregonian |
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