JOSHUA WEILERSTEIN
Conductor
JOSHUA ROMAN
Violoncello
Joshua Roman has
earned an international
THE FLORIDA OR 56 CHESTRA | 2018-2019
reputation
for his wide-ranging
repertoire, a commitment
to communicating
the essence
of music in visionary
ways, artistic leadership
and versatility.
As well as being a
celebrated performer,
he is recognized
as an accomplished
composer and curator, and was named a TED Senior
Fellow in 2015.
Last season, Roman made his Detroit Symphony
Orchestra debut and performed his own cello concerto,
Awakening, with the Princeton Symphony.
Recent highlights include the premiere of Tornado,
a new work composed by Roman and commissioned
by the Music Academy of the West and Town
Hall Seattle, and performances of the Mason Bates
Cello Concerto with the Portland, Berkeley, Spokane,
and Memphis symphonies.
Before embarking on a solo career, Roman spent
two seasons as principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony.
Since that time he has appeared as a soloist
with the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles
Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, New World
Symphony, and Alabama Symphony, among many
others. An active chamber musician, Roman has
collaborated with artists such as Andrius Zlabys,
Cho-Liang Lin, the Assad Brothers, Earl Carlyss,
Christian Zacharias and Yo-Yo Ma.
A native of Oklahoma City, Roman began playing
the cello at the age of three and gave his first public
recital at age ten. He pursued his musical studies at
the Cleveland Institute of Music with Richard Aaron.
He received his bachelor’s degree in cello performance
in 2004 and his master’s degree in 2005, as
a student of Desmond Hoebig. Roman is grateful for
the loan of an 1899 cello by Giulio Degani of Venice.
Joshua Weilerstein
is the artistic director
of the Orchestre
de Chambre de
Lausanne. He combines
enthusiasm
for both traditional
and contemporary
repertoire with an
ambition to bring
new audiences to
the concert hall and
endeavors to include
works by living
composers whenever possible.
In the 2018/19 season, Weilerstein makes debuts
with the Lausanne Opera conducting Cosi fan tutte,
and with the Cincinnati Symphony and New World
Symphony. He returns to the Milwaukee Symphony,
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Florida Orchestra,
and the New Jersey and North Carolina symphony
orchestras. In Europe, guest engagements include
the Oslo Philharmonic, where he conducts each
season, as well as the Netherlands Philharmonic,
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, NDR Radio Sinfonie,
Deutsches Radio Philharmonie, Nörkoppings
Orchester, and Mozarteum Orchester, among others.
He will also lead the Orchestre de Chambre de
Lausanne on a European tour with performances in
Rome and Évian. Other recent debuts include the
Bamberg Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, West Australian
Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony
Orchestra with Yo-Yo Ma as soloist, and his debut at
the BBC Proms conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra
with his sister, Alisa Weilerstein, as soloist.
Weilerstein is committed to music education and
hosts a successful podcast, Sticky Notes, for both
music lovers and casual listeners. He feels that it is
essential to have an open communication between
the stage and audience and encourages hearing
from musicians and audiences alike. He is accessible
on social media for conversations about the
future of classical music, programming, and the experience
of concert-going.