The Cello Sherpa Podcast

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

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

"The Hair of the Frog" - An Interview with Bowmaker Evan Orman, Denver Violins

Your bow is the only part of your rig you touch every second you play, yet most of us shop for one like we’re guessing in the dark. We sit in a room, try ten options, get

"Audition Methodology: Cracking the Code" - An Interview with Cellist Charles Zandieh, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

The audition screen can make great players feel powerless, but it also reveals something encouraging: the results often go to the musician with the most repeatable proces

"Shut Up and Play" - An Interview with Cellist Natasha Brofsky, Chair of The Juilliard School Cello Department

The fastest way to get better is not a secret scale system or a new bow hold. It’s learning how to think like a musician who can last. We sit down with cellist Natasha Br

"Etiquette Essentials: The Dos and Don'ts for Orchestral Musicians" - An Interview with Cellist Jennifer Humphreys, St Louis Symphony Orchestra

Your audition might win you the seat, but your day-to-day behavior decides whether people actually want to sit next to you for the next 20 years. The Cello Sherpa Podcast

"Last BOW" - An Interview with Carter Brey, Principal Cellist of the New York Philharmonic

Thirty years in the principal chair can look effortless from the audience, but it rarely feels that way from the stage. We’re joined by cellist Carter Brey as he steps ba

"Called Up to the Majors: Orchestra Fantasy Camp" - An Interview with Conductor Nicholas Hersh, Principal Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Academy

You’ve heard of side-by-side concerts, but what happens when adult amateur musicians don’t just drop in for a night, they move into the orchestra for an entire week? We s

“From Vision to Commission” - An Interview with Cellist Seth Parker Woods, International Soloist, Faculty, USC Thornton School of Music

A cello career can begin in the most unlikely place and still end up on the world’s biggest stages. We sit down with acclaimed cellist Seth Parker Woods, a fearless advoc

"Seven Feet Long and Nearly Silent" - An Interview with Cellist Matt Haimovitz, University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Pianist Christopher O'Riley, Former Host of NPR's From the Top

Cello and piano can be a brutal matchup when nobody makes room, but when the balance is right it becomes one of the most revealing duo formats in music. We sit down with

"Playing Outside the Bach(s)" - An Interview with Cellist Dorothy Lawson, Artistic Director and Founding Member of ETHEL

One missed signup and a burst of kid-level courage can set an entire life in motion. Cellist and composer Dorothy Lawson grew up in Toronto surrounded by classical music

"Building One Measure at a Time" - An Interview with Cellist Ole Akahoshi, Assistant Professor, Yale School of Music

A kid gets asked to “play a scale” by one of the greatest cellists who ever lived and has no idea what a scale is. That moment could have ended in embarrassment and retre

"No Drums, No Frets" - An Interview with Cellist Tommy Mesa, International Soloist, Faculty, Manhattan School of Music

He picked orchestra because he thought there would be drums and that mix-up changed his life. Cellist Tommy Mesa joins us to trace the real arc from an accidental start i

"The Dynamics of Equity" - An Interview with Stanford Thompson, Executive Director of Equity Arc

Classical music can change a life, but it can also quietly decide whose life gets changed. The Cello Sherpa Podcast Host, Joel Dallow, sits down with Stanford Thompson, f

"Bach from the Land of the Haka" - An Interview with Cellist Inbal Megiddo, Associate Professor, New Zealand School of Music

A tiny sixteenth-size cello, a stubborn toddler, and a violin shop tantrum, that’s how this story begins. From there, Inbal Megido grew into an international soloist and

"Sit Happens: From Suzuki to Systems" - An Interview with Cellist Melissa Kraut, DePaul University School of Music

A seven-year-old chooses the cello because “you get to sit,” and decades later becomes a sought-after pedagogue who reshapes how students think about practice, expression

"In Time and In Tune" - An Interview with Cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn, Principal of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

What does it really take to move from a childhood in a Soviet special music school to the principal chair of a top American orchestra? The Cello Sherpa Podcast Host, Joel

"Global Resonance" - An Interview with Cellist Hee-Young Lim, Professor at the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music

A single question—“Can I have it?”—nearly sent a child’s cello out the door. Instead, that moment lit a fuse that carried Hee-Young Lim from piano lessons and packed Kore

"The 3 Cs of a Lasting Career: Curiosity, Commissions, & Communication" - An Interview with Cellist Johannes Moser, International Soloist and Chamber Musician

A cello can feel like an escape, a calling, and eventually a limb. That’s how Johannes Moser describes the moment the instrument clicked for him and why, decades later, h

"Auditions, Anxiety, and the Myth of Flawless Playing" - An Interview with Clinical Psychologist, Ellen Hendriksen

Perfectionism can sharpen your playing or steal your joy. The Cello Sherpa Podcast Host, Joel Dallow, sits down with clinical psychologist Dr. Ellen Hendriksen to unpack

"Low Notes, High Stakes, & No Time to Waste" - An Interview with Rainer Eudeikis, Principal Cellist of the San Francisco Symphony

What does it really take to lead a world-class cello section while raising two young kids and navigating an orchestra’s evolving culture? The Cello Sherpa Podcast Host, J