There's no simple answer to this question. But between my parents being cellists who were also active in the local cello community, organizing and co-organizing cello ensemble events in South Florida and elsewhere, and the fact that I found my voice best in the tones of the cello itself, I find that the only true reason is that I feel like it - cello feels the most right to me.
I love all the other string instruments too, and all the other instruments after that. Piano holds an incredibly special place in my heart, so much so that I never wanted to learn how to play it properly, otherwise the magic of listening to piano might disappear for me. But cello always makes the top of my list, and I find that what it can do makes it the best instrument for me.
Do you have a favorite instrument? Or one you don't want to learn, because otherwise it wouldn't be magical anymore?
Special mention to @fredmalverde and @eurico_cello on the first slide
My parents @perron4883 and @claudiojaffe
#cellomusic #womeninmusic #cellocomposer #celloensemble #modernclassical #composerlife #berlinmusic #livecellomusic #independentartist #whyicompose #whoiam
Ein Cello – viele Stimmen.
@natjaffe erzählt mit ihrem Cello Geschichten und verwandelt sie in Soundtracks von Orten, Menschen und Emotionen.
Ihre Stücke spiegeln dabei ihr multikulturelles Erbe wider und zeigen, wie sich Musik und Menschen über Generationen und Orte hinweg wandeln.
Begibt dich mit uns auf die Reise!
📍 Alte Segeltuchfabrik
🌇 Wilhelm-Külz-Straße 15, 03046 Cottbus
Folg @lostpoetryfestival für alle Updates und das gesamte Line-up!
Für ein kostenfreies Ticket zu dem Sommer eures Lebens, folg einfach dem Link in der Bio.
L/OST POETRY
Sprache. Sound. Solidarität.🩷
🌞 Sonntags in der Bibliothek – Kulturschaufenster vom 25.01.!
Wenn der Sonntag nach Bewegung, Musik und Kreativität ruft, seid ihr bei uns genau richtig: Beim Kultursonntag wird die Bibliothek zur Bühne! 🎭🎶
14:00 Uhr | Jonglage-Show & Workshop mit Stabernack eh fau
Energie, Farbe und Bewegung: Mit Poi, Hula-Hoop, Diabolo & Co. entstand eine mitreißende Jonglage-Show voller Rhythmus und Dynamik.
Danach hieß es: selbst ausprobieren! Bastelt eigene Requisiten, testet die Jonglage-Tools und nehmt Ideen für zu Hause mit. Hat es geklappt, dann schickt uns Eure Videos!
15:30 Uhr | Konzert mit dem Cellogy Cello Trio
Drei Celli, unzählige Klangfarben: Das Cellogy Cello Trio verbindet klassische, folkloristische und interkulturelle Einflüsse.
Brasilianische Rhythmen treffen auf jiddische Lieder und kanadische Volksmusik – warm, vielschichtig und überraschend.
📍 Ort: Hauptbibliothek
🎟 Eintritt frei!
In Kooperation von #slbPotsdam mit
#kulturmachtpotsdam
#sonntagsindiebibliothek #kulturinderbibliothek #kulturschaufenster
Our mentor @natjaffe is spicing things up🌶️
Cellospielen ist nicht immer gleich Cellospielen. Es braucht Übung, Kreativität und Hingabe - alles, was du in der Berlin Cello Academy findest!
Unsere Mentorin Natasha Jaffe zeigt, wie sowas aussehen kann: Vier verschiedene Aufnahmen, vier verschiedene Spuren und eine Cellistin, die den Song der Red Hot Chili Peppers neu belebt!
→ Werde auch Teil der @berlincelloacademy und connecte dich mit anderen begeisterten Musiker*innen🫂
I've been composing some new music. And I thought I'd be finished with it by now and releasing it soon but somehow the summer went by wayyyy faster than I could imagine.
It's a *pre*-EP release concert because you'll get to hear most of the songs that will go on the EP but, instead of releasing all of the music online too, nobody else will get to hear the pieces till I've finished recording them. A true analog event. 😜
I'm going to present nearly everything fully acoustic with the amazing talents of Ana Luísa Pereira, Eurico Mathias, and Lillia Keyes, so this will be a night to celebrate cello, cello ensembles, and to share some personal stories of mine to go with the music.
Entry is free. Doors at 20h, show at 20:30.
#cellogram #celloensemble #celloconcert #berlinevents #berlinlive #berlinmusic #liveinberlin
#prerelease #livemusic #celloparty #konzertberlin #chambermusic #berlinmusician
The music stand hardly caught the choir in the shot, but there was no time for fancy filming 😜 check out @corluminaberlin for some nice videos of the performance! We had a great crowd and this piece is from the fantastic Pentatonix, a band featuring my favorite instrument ever: the cello 😍
An unexpected bonus was the hundreds of police stationed right outside, since Volodymyr Zelenskyy was just a few buildings away 👮
Sometimes a piece starts with just a little melody snippet, something tiny that gets stuck in my head long enough that I sing it into my phone.
Today I played one such little idea into my loop pedal, and layered different sounds, harmonies, and ideas over it, under it, around it. Not all of them work perfectly, but I'll use this video and some other idea sessions to create the final product, picking my favorite parts of each take. This particular session "unlocked" the piece for me - now I have a plan of where I want to take it, and how I want it to sound at the end. Mostly that comes in the form of a general mood and a message.
This is far from a finished product, just a spark of the raw process that happens before a piece gets recorded and finished. And it definitely will be for acoustic cello! But sometimes I just have the electric in hand 😇
#cello #cellomusic #loopexperiment #workinprogress #composerlife #celloBerlin #cellocommunity #cellistsofinstagram #musiccreation #cellofun #berlinmusic #creativeprocess #musicislife
I begged for a year to play the cello, and when my parents gave in when I was 5, they hoped it was just a phase. They are cellists themselves, and they knew what I couldn’t know yet.
15 years of nearly daily practice before I’d even finish university. No guarantee of a stable job. Even if I found one, I’d have to keep practicing to keep it. Younger, more brilliant cellists could replace me at any time. An injury to my hands, arms, or back could end my playing career in a moment.
They hoped I’d choose something safer—law, medicine—where steady effort leads to steady pay, and where health or appearance don’t determine your worth. But I was in love with the cello. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. They understood - they had made the same choice after all.
I got my Master's degree in cello in 2012 and moved to Berlin, Germany. I auditioned for a few orchestras and failed miserably. I was too nervous - I trembled and shook and couldn't play as well as I wanted to. That wasn't nearly good enough to get an orchestra job. I nearly quit the cello, sitting outside the theater in Braunschweig.
But I found a different path. I played with singer-songwriters and bands, who played for the love of music and not for a specific standard. I learned I could connect to audiences with the skills I have and my love for music. I didn't need to beat anybody else in an audition. I didn't need to be the best. And I could compose and perform what I wanted, and found people who like what I did.
Today I play challenging music. I play on stages and in concert halls. I don't get so nervous on stage. I can wear Vans to my own concerts if I want to. And I practice because, well, in the words of Pablo Casals: "I feel that I am making daily progress."
📷 Daniela Litman @danielalitman.photography
From a concert at @winterwerft January 2025
#cellist #cellogram #cellojourney #classicalmusician #musicianlife #mycellostory #artistlife #creativejourney #inspiration #behindthescenes #passionandpurpose
This past April I got to spend some extra time with my mom - I was with her for 5 full weeks, visiting my sister up on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia and then heading out to the "interior" of BC, in the mountains.
It was an intense time - my mom was going through some big changes in her life, and I hadn't spent so many consecutive weeks with her since I lived under her roof as a teenager! The first couple of weeks felt a bit rough, we were disconnected and had trouble understanding each other. But around the halfway point we had an emotional breakthrough, and became so much closer because of it.
This video is from the concert we did together in Nelson, BC as part of the Selkirk Pro Musica concert series at St. Saviour's Church. It was after we had really found our communication, and I think it shows in this video of us playing the Chaconne by J. S. Bach in this duo arrangement by my parents, Johanne Perron and Claudio Jaffé. The look we share just before we start is one of perfect confidence - however the performance will go, we know we will be strong together.
This Chaconne arrangement has always held a special place in my heart as it was a piece my parents worked intensely together on when I was just a little baby, and then performed many times throughout my childhood. It is a masterwork by J. S. Bach as well in its original form as a solo violin piece. I was so glad I had the opportunity to perform it with my mom this year, and hope to find an opportunity to play it with my dad sometime soon as well!
#cellomusic #womeninmusic #cellocomposer #celloensemble #modernclassical #composerlife #berlinmusic #livecellomusic #independentartist #parents #family
About 10 years ago, I met Fred Malverde @fredmalverde at a gig where we played with @cristobalreymusic . Most of the projects I played with at the time were singer-songwriter projects where I was the only cellist, and meeting Fred and playing with two cellists in one band reminded me of how much I love playing with other cellists. Thus my cello trio idea was born.
Fred is moving (temporarily I hope!) back to Brazil for a while to complete a master's degree and I'm going to miss him very much. His love for the cello, for Boccherini specifically, and for playing and arranging his favorite music has always inspired me to try and do more myself. In the last couple of years we also worked on a growing list of cello duo repertoire - so much fun to play - and a great challenge. We shared arrangements and ideas at every meeting, over a coffee or some of Fred's delicious homemade pao de queijo.
Maybe we'll be playing some concerts in Brazil in the next few years!
Be sure to follow Fred for lots of cello music 😍
#cellomusic #cellocomposer #celloensemble #modernclassical #composerlife #berlinmusic #livecellomusic #independentartist #celloduo #colleague #teamwork #thankyou #workanniversary #journey
One of my favorite kinds of days - when I am not traveling, don't have rehearsals, and can spend a long time in my home studio. It doesn't look like much and I usually forget to film or post about it because it doesn't seem so exciting, but I get a lot of peace and joy out of days like this!
Between practicing, recording, and filming videos, I always have plenty to do at the cello. This was about a 3 hour block of time and I had some remote recordings to finish, some filming for YouTube on my agenda, and of course more practicing, for my own music as well as upcoming projects. Sometimes I wish every day could be like this... but then I remember I'd probably get bored or stop appreciating it so much if this was my normal routine.
#cellomusic #womeninmusic #cellocomposer #celloensemble #modernclassical #composerlife #berlinmusic #livecellomusic #independentartist #homestudio #workfromhome #freelancer #selfdiscipline #practice #workethic
At the beginning of August I performed with the @cellotic Soundtrack Ensemble at the @animagic.de conference in Mannheim. It was a super fun experience and the fourth time we've been a part of it! This time we also got to perform a bunch of beautiful music from the anime Violet Evergarden and even performed a couple of songs with @aira.yuuki 😍 😍
Here are a few of my personal impressions from the show. Follow Aira and the Cellotic Soundtrack Ensemble for more on this show and others ;)
#cellomusic #womeninmusic #cellistontour #celloensemble #modernclassical #tourdiary #berlinmusic #livecellomusic #independentartist #violetevergarden #animecon #airayuuki
