Oliver Herbert, cello
Union College

Oliver Herbert is a concert cellist with a rapidly growing international presence. The recipient of a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Oliver’s natural musicianship and connective performances are carving a unique path in the world of music.

As a soloist, Oliver has appeared with world renowned orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Juanjo Mena, and Alexander Shelley. His work is fueled by a passion for music ranging from past centuries to the present, with concerto performances spotlighting works from C.P.E. Bach to Haydn, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Ibert, Elgar, Barber, Shostakovich, Schnittke, Lutoslawski, and Vasks, among others. 

Working closely with composers, Oliver has commissioned several works including a new solo cello piece by Chelsea Komschlies as well as Andrew Moses’ Ecstatic Immanence for cello, percussion, and electronics which was recently premiered at the 2023 TICA Festival, Hong Kong. At the 2023 Kronberg Festival, Oliver gave the world premiere of Žibuoklė Martinaitytė’s new solo cello work, Spiral Spins. In recent seasons, his projects have included performances of the complete Bach Cello Suites at Capital Region Classical and the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas at Guarneri Hall in Chicago.

Oliver’s recital engagements have brought him across the United States to venues such as the Ravinia Festival and Kravis Center, as well as on tour to Greece, Germany, Switzerland, and Hong Kong. His programs are known for combining beloved with lesser known works, contextualizing them with equal advocacy and commitment. 

Oliver appears regularly at leading chamber music festivals and venues such as the Rheingau Festival, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Marlboro, La Jolla SummerFest, Verbier Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, 92nd Street Y, and the Ravinia Festival. He has performed with luminaries such as Mitsuko Uchida and Tabea Zimmermann.

Oliver’s recordings include a release of Haydn’s D Major Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas by Warner Classics as part of highlights of MTT’s final season as music director. In June of 2020, Oliver released his debut album with pianist Xiaohui Yang, Frame of Mind: Fauré and Janáček, featuring the two cello and piano sonatas of Gabriel Fauré, as well as Leoš Janáček’s Pohádka (Fairy Tale). 

Oliver is the recipient of the 2017 Verbier Festival’s Jean-Nicolas Firmenich Prize, as well as top prizes in the Lutoslawski International Cello Competition, Klein Competition, and Stulberg Competition. He has been featured on PBS’s Now Hear This, NPR’s From the Top, the popular online interview series, Living the Classical Life, and more.

Oliver is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Colburn School, where he studied with Carter Brey, Pamela Frank, Clive Greensmith, and Peter Wiley. He is now a student of Frans Helmerson in the professional studies program at the Kronberg Academy, generously funded by the Nanno Lenz patronage. He plays on a Guadagnini cello that belonged to the great Italian cellist Antonio Janigro, on generous loan from the Janigro family.

Chinese pianist Xiaohui Yang, a winner of the 2017 Naumburg International Piano Competition has been hailed by the press as a "tastefully polished musician" (Haaretz, Israel) and “a magician of sound and virtuosity” (La Libre, Belgium). She has been featured in performances throughout four continents, including in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Ozawa Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the Seoul Arts Center.

Ms. Yang has been a soloist with ensembles including the Louisiana Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony, Curtis Symphony, Galveston Symphony, and Poland’s Capella Bydgostiensis. Solo and collaborative performances include recitals for Portland Piano International, Shriver Hall Concert Series (Baltimore), Capital Region Classical (Schenectady, NY), Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts (Chicago), and Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts (Katonah, NY). 

A dedicated chamber musician, Ms. Yang has taken part in renowned North American festivals such as Marlboro, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Banff, and Taos and has performed with luminaries such as Peter Wiley, Charles Neidich, and Roberto Diaz. Ms. Yang has been invited to perform on tours with Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute and Curtis on Tour at concert halls in the United States, Korea, and Greece. She is also a founding member of the Steans Piano Trio, alongside Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra violinist Eunice Kim and Boston Symphony Orchestra Assistant Principal cellist Oliver Aldort. 

Ms. Yang is a graduate of Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Ignat Solzhenitsyn and was a recipient of the Festorazzi Prize for the best graduating piano student. She earned her master’s degree at The Juilliard School as a student of Robert McDonald and currently is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at the Peabody Conservatory under the tutelage of Boris Slutsky. Before moving to the United States, Ms. Yang studied at the Attached Music School of Shenyang Conservatory of Music with Danwen Wei, Xianwei Cheng, and Rosemary Platt.