Issei Herr, cello

I s s e i H e r r

cello

Cellist Issei Herr is committed to a diverse array of music both old and new. A compelling soloist and a dedicated collaborator, Issei performs a scope of repertoire that ranges from the music of Bach, Babbitt, and Berio to Schubert, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky. Issei is a fierce advocate of the music of our time, working closely with living composers to develop emerging repertoire and presenting new works in the context of innovative concert programs.

Highlights of the 2019-2020 season include the premiere of a new solo cello work by Nico Muhly, the development of a collaborative project with composer and visual artist Julie Zhu, and performances in China with PinkNoise Ensemble. Past highlights include a series of duo concerts with distinguished violinist Rolf Schulte in Mexico and New York, a collaborative performance art project with choreographer Mary Armentrout in San Francisco, and a recording of the complete solo cello suites of Bach.

Committed to musical collaboration and cross-disciplinary endeavors, Issei is an active member of PinkNoise, a chamber ensemble dedicated to the juxtaposition of works of the core repertoire with musical improvisation. Issei is also the newest member of Unheard-of//Ensemble, a contemporary quartet dedicated to the development and performance of new music by living composers. Issei has joined Unheard-of in residencies and performances at Cornell University, Alia Musica Pittsburgh, and Stony Brook University, among others.

Issei has worked closely with some of the leading composers of our time, including Mario Davidovsky, Kaija Saariaho, and Augusta Read Thomas. He has performed as a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s SoundLab Ensemble, alongside the JACK Quartet in the American premiere of Zosha Di Castri’s String Octet, the East Coast Contemporary Ensemble, and as a member of the League of Composers Orchestra. In 2016, he appeared as a concerto soloist with the New Juilliard Ensemble in the New York premiere of Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky’s Hearing Solution.

Issei is currently pursuing graduate studies at The Juilliard School, where he is a student of distinguished cellist Fred Sherry.