Raphael Bell
Cello
Sponsor: Mike Callahan and Ronald Welch

American cellist Raphael Bell enjoys a varied career as a chamber musician, teacher, festival director and orchestra member. He is currently principal of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra in Belgium, co-Artistic Director of La Loingtaine in Montigny-sur-Loing, France, and co-founder and co-Artistic Director of the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival. As a chamber musician he has performed at Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Salle Gaveau, Berlin Philharmonie, Koln Philharmonie, Luzerner Theater, Tokyo Suntory Hall, and Kyoto Concert Hall. He was part of the IMS Prussia Cove tour that won the Chamber Music Award from the Royal Philharmonic Society in London. Solo performances include concertos with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Luft Ensemble, and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic where he performed the Brahms Double Concerto on tour with conductor Philippe Herreweghe. He has also performed with the Munich Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Bell studied at The Juilliard School.