Ari Evan

New York-based cellist Ari Evan maintains an active performing career throughout North America and Europe. From 2020–23 he lived in Brussels, Belgium, where he completed his Artist Diploma at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapelle in Belgium, under the tutelage of Gary Hoffman. Solo highlights from his time in Europe include a performance of Schumann’s Cello Concerto with the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra, Haydn’s D Major Concerto with Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Vienna Concert Orchestra, and a recital at Flagey, Brussels. Ari was featured on the Chapelle’s landmark Cesar Franck CD, recording his first three piano trios with Frank Braley. Especially fond of string quartets, Ari served as guest cellist of the Quatuor MONA, performing in the Paris Philharmonie, and toured with the internationally acclaimed Rolston String Quartet through Europe, Canada, and the US. He also served as guest principal cellist with Belgium’s Ataneres Ensemble.

A versatile chamber musician, Ari has performed with many of the world’s pre-eminent artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Shumel Ashkenasi, Corina Belcea, Colin Carr, Miriam Fried, Gary Hoffman, Hsin-Yun Huang, Ani Kavafian, Robert McDonald, as well as former members of the Cleveland and Artemis Quartets. He often performs music of living composers—having world-premiered works by Augusta Reed Thomas, Aaron J Kernis, Philip Lasser, and Pieter Schuermans—and has worked with Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Zorn, Eric Montalbetti, Kinan Azmeh, Eric Tanguy, and George Lewis on their own compositions. Many of the relationships Ari cultivated through chamber music have led to CD recordings—he is featured on the Alpha Classics, DUX, MSR Classics, and Sono Luminus labels. Exciting upcoming new music projects include the world-premiere of a cello/piano work by Michael Grebla at the Australian Embassy, and the first CD recording of Aaron J Kernis’ piano trio, Bright Abyss.

Ari has also played with many of New York’s premiere ensembles, working with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, ECCO, Music from Copland House, NOVUS, Metropolis Ensemble, New York Classical Players, Frisson Ensemble, and Exponential Ensemble. Additionally, he serves as the co-founder and artistic director of the Forest Hills Chamber Music Series, which he founded in 2019 to bring works by under-represented Jewish composers to his hometown of Forest Hills.

A passionate educator, Ari has coached chamber music at Juilliard Pre-College since 2016, and held a cello faculty position at the Caedmon School for the 2023–24 academic year. During his recent performances in Hawaii, he gave a solo cello masterclass to University of Hawaii students, as well as a high school solo masterclass to students of the Iolani music school. He has also served as guest artist faculty at the Heartland Chamber Music Festival in Kansas (2021), and the Merit School of Music in Chicago (2017), where he led chamber music masterclasses. His philosophy as a private teacher is to adapt his style to suit the individual needs of each student, and to always strive to help every student connect with their innate love of music.

Ari was a member of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect from 2018–2020, and studied with Timothy Eddy at the Juilliard School, where he received his Master’s Degree in 2017. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, where he graduated with honors.