Carter Brey (born 1954) is an American cello, cellist. He had a prolific solo career from 1981 until 1996 when he became the principal cellist of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

, a position he continues to occupy.

Biography

Carter Brey was born in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

and grew up in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

. He began playing the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

at age 9 and the cello at age 12 in school, although he did not seriously consider becoming a professional musician until he was 16. He studied under Laurence Lesser and Stephen Kates at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...

and later with Aldo Parisot at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he was a Wardell Fellow and a Houpt Scholar. He taught at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

in between his time at Peabody and Yale. In 1979 he joined the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...

where he played for two seasons. Brey came to international attention in 1981 when he won the 3rd Prize of the Rostropovich International Cello Competition, which led to his playing the

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

Cello concerto under the baton of

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

with the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

in 1983. In 1982 he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, which led to his New York City recital debut at the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the You ...

. These competition wins kick-started his career as a cello soloist and he has since performed with almost every major symphony orchestra in the United States under such conductors as

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (; March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in t ...

, Kurt Masur, Semyon Bychkov, Sergiu Comissiona, and Christoph von Dohnanyi. As a

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

ian, Brey has performed with the Tokyo String Quartet, the

Emerson String Quartet The Emerson String Quartet, also known as the Emerson Quartet, was an American string quartet initially formed as a student group at the Juilliard School in 1976. It was named for American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson and began touri ...

New York Youth Symphony The New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), founded in 1963, is a music organization for the youth in New York City, widely reputed to be one of the best of its kind in the nation and world. Its programs include its flagship Orchestra, Chamber Music, J ...

, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has performed at the Spoleto festivals in the United States and Italy, the

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival is a six-week-long summer Festival of chamber music held annually in July and August and located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was founded in 1972 and presented its first series of concerts in 1973. Well-known mu ...

, the La Jolla Chamber Music Festival and elsewhere.Interview with Carter Brey at www.cello.org
/ref> Brey lives in New York City. He joined the faculty of the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...

in 2008.

References

External links

*Ovation Press
cello scores edited by Carter BreyFree scores
Mutopia Project *Audio
Carter Brey and Christopher O'Riley, Live at NPR: Cellist and Pianist Perform, Discuss Their Music

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, March 26, 2004 *Beth Nisse
Cellist Carter Brey: 'Renaissance lumber'

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, February 23, 2001 * Anne Midgette
"Cellist Returns to 1948"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', May 3, 2003 *Edward Rothstein
"Recitals: Oboist, Guitarist, and Cellist; Carter Brey, Cello, Winner of Award"
''The New York Times'', February 8, 1984 *Noah Rothbaum

''

Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a global magazine and website for runners of all abilities. It has additionally developed experiential formats, including a digital membership program, called Runner's World+. It is published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylva ...

'', August 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brey, Carter 1954 births Living people American classical cellists Curtis Institute of Music faculty Musicians from Montclair, New Jersey Yale University alumni Peabody Institute alumni Players of the New York Philharmonic Players of the Cleveland Orchestra