Joshua Roman

Joshua Roman is a cello soloist and composer, hailed for his “effortlessly expressive tone… and playful zest for exploration” (The New York Times), as well as his “extraordinary technical and musical gifts” and “blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom… that goes straight to the heart” (San Francisco Chronicle). His genre-bending programs and wide-ranging collaborations have grown out of an “enthusiasm for musical evolution that is as contagious as his love for the classics” (Seattle Times).

Committed to bringing classical music to new audiences, Roman has collaborated with world-class artists across genres and disciplines; along with Edgar Meyer, these include DJ Spooky, Tony-winner/MacArthur “Genius” Bill T. Jones, Grammy Award-winning East African vocalist Somi, and Tony Award-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith. His concert of the complete Bach Solo Cello Suites after the 2016 US presidential election had nearly a million live viewers, and his solo performance with the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall was viewed by 33 million people across nearly 200 countries, with Yo-Yo Ma introducing him as “one of the great exemplars of the ideal 21st-century musician.”

As a soloist with an “exceptionally high quality of performances” (Los Angeles Times), Roman has performed with leading orchestras including the ​​Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony, BBC Scottish, and Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra. As a composer, he has been commissioned by Music Academy of the West, the Illinois Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. Roman has also premiered new works composed for him by Mason Bates, Reena Esmail, Timo Andres, Gabriela Lena Frank, Aaron Jay Kernis, Lisa Bielawa, and others.