Nathaniel Pierce, cello
Artistic Director and co-founder
Cellist and tenor Nathaniel Pierce thrives in exploring new ways to engage in the art of performance. Pierce has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and has been a featured soloist with the Toledo, Dexter, Dearborn, Albany, Ann Arbor and Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphonies, the Rose Chamber Orchestra as well as with the University of Michigan and Indiana University Symphonies. As a recitalist, Pierce has performed his own innovative arrangements for cello and voice, such as Schubert’s Winterreise with pianist Martin Katz, and paraphrases of Wagner’s Walküre and Tristan and Isolde with pianist Amy Cheng. He premiered Frank Stemper's Good Night Moon for solo cello and voice written for Pierce in May 2021. Recent engagements included a recital with pianist John Etsell at the La Maison de la Musique of repertoire for tenor and cello, including Pierce’s own transcription of Benjamin Britten’s Canticle III.
Pierce is Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival in Alaska. His summer activities have included performing and teaching at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, Maui Classical Music Festival, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Innsbrook Institute, Ann Arbor Chamber Fest, and the Oberlin Acoustics Workshop. Pierce is a founding member of the Koinonia Piano Trio which has toured in Europe and in the United States.
Pierce is the founder and director of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire String Academy. He previously served on the cello faculty at the University of Michigan Youth Performing Arts Pre-college Program. He has taught classes at University of Michigan, Indiana University, University of Minnesota Duluth, Western Illinois University, Ohio University, Stevens-Point Wisconsin, and Missouri State Universities. His students have continued their studies at University of Michigan, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Maryland University, Peabody Conservatory, Michigan State University, Boston University, and Eastern Michigan Universities, among others.
Pierce has studied baroque music under Edward Parmentier, Joseph Gascho, and Wendy Gillespie. He has led the Viola da Gamba consort at the University of Michigan. Pierce received his B.M. at the University of Michigan under the instruction of Richard Aaron, and completed his M.M. with Brandon Vamos at Indiana University. He completed his D.M.A. at the University of Michigan under Anthony Elliott, cellist, Martin Katz, collaborative pianist, and tenor Scott Piper.