| Christopher Gross, cello Following Christopher Gross’ performance of Brian Ferneyhough’s Time and Motion Study II for solo cello at the 2005 Lincoln Center Festival the New York Times wrote: "...for 20 minutes this skinny young cellist with a punkish hair cut seemed like a musical master of the universe..." Mr. Gross has performed numerous solo and chamber performances of contemporary music throughout the United States and in Europe. He is a founding member of The iO Quartet, the Billy Joel Graduate String Quartet in Residence at SUNY Purchase from 2006-2008 and the 2008 Fellowship Ensemble at Monadnock Music. The iO Quartet has performed at Kneisel Hall, Barge Music, Symphony Space, Greenwhich Music House, and in 2009 Merkin Hall. They were prize-winners at the 2008 Yellow Spring Chamber Music Competition and recently were awarded the 2008 Chamber Music America Commissioning Grant. As a soloist, he most recently premiered Milton Babbitt's piece More Melismata for solo cello on the 2006 Focus! Festival. In the summer of 2005 he appeared in solo performance at John Zorn’s new performance space The Stone. On the 2005 Focus! Festival, he appeared as soloist in Arvo Pärt’s Pro et Contra. In 2003, he premiered James Dillon’s piano quintet The Soadie Waste, as well as giving many of the early performances of Luciano Berio’s Sequenza XIV for solo cello. Highly in demand as an ensemble musician, he has played with various new music groups, including the Flux Quartet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Continuum, Talea Ensemble, Second Instrumental Unit, Argento Chamber Ensemble, Juilliard Electric Ensemble, and at venues including Weill Hall, Disney Hall, Merkin Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Barge Music, Monadnock Music, MoMA, Roulette, the Cleveland Museum of Art, MOBIA, and the Chelsea Art Museum. In addition to his interests in contemporary music, Mr. Gross seeks to bring new understanding to the standard repertoire through audience education and innovative programming. His is currently on the Teaching Artist faculty of the New York Philharmonic working in New York City Public Schools, and has performed for thousands of students throughout the country and internationally, both as soloist and as a founding member of The iO Quartet and previously the Enesco Quartet. Past residencies for the iO Quartet include three weeks throughout the Philippines, two weeks in rural Kentucky in collaboration with New Performing Arts, and two weeks in coastal Maine in collaboration with Kneisel Hall. From 2005-07 he was a Morse Fellow at The Juilliard School and Teaching Fellow in the Juilliard Liberal Arts department. He recently completed Long Term Suzuki Teacher Training and is a fully certified teacher with The Suzuki Association of the Americas. He was also recently published in The American Suzuki Journal for his article “What is a Suzuki Teacher?” Mr. Gross recently completed an Artist Diploma with The iO Quartet at SUNY Purchase College Conservatory, where he studied with Julia Lichten. He received his Masters Degree from the Juilliard School and is a graduate of the Oberlin College and Conservatory. Past principal teachers include Richard Aaron, Darrett Adkins, Joel Krosnick, and Andor Toth. Festival appearances include Aspen, Kneisel Hall, Lucerne, Monadnock Music, and Brevard.  |