KEIRAN CAMPBELL

Keiran Campbell was drawn to the cello after he stumbled across one in his grandmother’s basement and was baffled by its size. Once he turned 8, he began taking lessons- on a much smaller cello- in his native Greensboro, North Carolina. After studying extensively with Leonid Zilper, former solo cellist of the Bolshoi Ballet, he received his Bachelors and Masters at the Juilliard School, working with Darrett Adkins, Timothy Eddy, and Phoebe Carrai. Keiran also spent several springs in Cornwall, England, studying with Steven Isserlis and Ralph Kirshbaum at Prussia Cove. He now is based in Toronto, Canada, where he performs as a core member of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.

Described as “a delightful performer… playing with the ease of a pub fiddler,” (The WholeNote) and “an active, sparkling participant in the musical conversation” (Toronto Star), Keiran has performed with ensembles including The English Concert, NYBI, Philharmonia Baroque, The Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Four Nations Ensemble, and Les Violons du Roy. He recently performed with Le Concert Des Nations under Jordi Savall, touring Europe performing Beethoven Symphonies before recording them on Savall’s new Beethoven CD. During his summers, Keiran has performed with Teatro Nuovo, Lakes Area Music Festival, and The Carmel Bach Festival. He is also on faculty at the recently formed, UC Berkeley-based, Chamber Music Collective, which focuses primarily on post-1750 performance practice. Recent performance highlights include concerto appearances with Tafelmusik and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, a concert of Monteverdi Madrigals with Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations in Carnegie Hall, a solo recital with fortepianist Sezi Seskir at the Berkeley Early Music festival, and performances of Handel’s Saul and Solomon with English Concert at the BBC Proms and Edinburgh Festival.

Keiran maintained a private teaching studio in New York City, and he recently gave masterclasses at UNC Chapel Hill, Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, Western University, at Tafelmusik Winter Institute, and at Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute.

Keiran plays on a cello by Timothy Johnson, and a 1770s bow attributed to the Dodd family, which was purchased in part thanks to a grant from the Ontario Arts Council. Keiran is also fascinated with instrument making, which he studies with the maker of his cello, Timothy Johnson.