Elaine Kreston, cellist

"I haven't forgotten how you project soul through sound." M.K.

"I was at the Inner Directions Gathering a few days ago and thought your playing was superb, one of the highlights I'll always remember." J.A.

"Your cello playing is exquisite and adds an element that you don't hear very often in contemporary music." M.D.

"You were a big highlight of last year's concert." G.M.

"Elaine Kreston wowed the audience with her stunning performance of the 'Suite No. 1 in G Major for Cello' from memory; the velvety richness of her interpretation of this work was a highlight of the evening." - The Alameda Sun

Cellist Elaine Kreston has performed throughout the USA and Europe, including Carnegie's Recital Hall, as soloist on Broadway, with pop and rock stars, and has been featured in broadcasts on NPR and KPFA.

Her talents are diverse: a founding member of the classical Maybeck Trio, she also performs in RumiCello: a collaboration that beautifully mingles the poetry of Rumi with the sounds of the cello. Blending her background of classical music with improvisation, she has performed as soloist at the events of Krishna Das, Adyashanti, and Eckhart Tolle.

As a recording artist, Elaine adds her mellow tones to the albums of singer-songwriters, movie scores, and has released a cd with TranslucenT. Elaine's background includes receiving a bachelor's degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and a Master’s Degree from UT-Austin. With a spirited desire to share the wonders of music with future generations, she currently leads a teaching studio in the Bay Area and frequently visits schools, public and private, to perform, teach, and inspire. To learn more about her latest adventures, please visit www.elainekreston.com .

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ Click here for concert history: that could give you an idea of what I'm up to, too ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you want to continue reading.... Here's a bit more about Elaine, as performer and teacher.....

An active chamber musician, she has appeared in New York City's Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie, the Kosciuszko Foundation and Steinway Hall. Ms. Kreston has performed throughout the United States and Europe, and as an advocate of new music, has participated in numerous premieres. As a member of Musicians Accord, a new music group based in New York City, she has been featured on WNYC. She has performed with and been featured by New York's unique and acclaimed chamber orchestra, the Jupiter Symphony. The variety of performing she enjoys also took her to Broadway, where she gave solo performances in Matthew Bourne's new interpretation of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. As concerto soloist, Ms. Kreston's appearances include London, England; San Francisco; and Chicago's Orchestra Hall.

In the Bay Area, Elaine has been featured on KPFA and has performed solo and chamber music programs in several concert series. She has collaborated with a variety of artists, including classical instrumentalists, singer-songwriters, a professional whistler, improvisers, Eastern musicians, Rumi readers, and more. She has also performed with the Napa Valley Symphony as Principal Cellist, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the New Century Chamber Orchestra, the Pacific Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra.

As recitalist and chamber musician Ms. Kreston has performed at the Chicago Cultural Center, the Music in the Loft Series, the Chicago Three Arts Club, and the Harold Washington Library. Her Boston appearances include Jordan Hall, the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum and Harvard University's New Music Series. Elaine was a featured artist in Wisconsin's Green Lake Music Festival and has performed throughout San Antonio and South Texas as a member of the Carnelian String Quartet and the River City Consort. In addition to her appearances at Austin's Intimate Concert Series and the Austin Chamber Music Center, she was a member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra.

Elaine participated in the winter residency program of the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado as a member of the new music group NonSequitur. The group of six musicians led masterclasses and performed throughout the Aspen valley, introducing many children as well as adults to contemporary music and techniques. Ms. Kreston spent her 1997 season in Europe where she was an artist with the European Mozart Foundation based in Poland and the Czech Republic, which sponsored chamber music performances throughout Europe.

Because of her strong interest in education, Elaine has created and participated in in-school residencies in a variety of communities, sometimes travelling far and wide to do so. Some of the students she has met attend classical performances regularly; some had never before seen a cello. These programs allow students the opportunity to experience live performance in their own environment and receive coaching from professional musicians while encouraging personal interaction with the performers.

While living in San Antonio, Texas, she and a few colleagues noticed a lack of available music education. Together, the four musicians founded the Greater San Antonio Music Institute. Even it its first year, the Institute incorporated chamber music, music theory, orchestra, Orff and Suzuki classes for young children, jazz combos, and workshops led by locals as well as visiting artists.

Currently a private cello teacher in Berkeley, she also coaches the cello sections of local youth orchestras and teaches chamber music at the Crowden School, the chamber-music based middle school and Center For Music in Berkeley, California. She has coached the cello sections of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra.

Ms. Kreston received a Bachelor's Degree in Music from the New England Conservatory, where she studied with Laurence Lesser, and, later, Colin Carr. She received a Master's Degree from the University of Texas at Austin where she studied with Paul Olefsky. She has also worked with Carter Brey and Steven Isserlis, and has been featured in master classes led by Yo-Yo Ma, Mario Brunello, Aldo Parisot, William Pleeth (the teacher of Jacqueline DuPre), and others.

A quote from a recent press announcement:
.… Also featured is Elaine Kreston, a sought-after cellist recently transplanted from New York, whose touching renditions of Bach suites help to transport one from the stress of daily living to the depths and heights of humanity and beyond.

+ + + 

Please check back for updates, 
and thanks for visiting my site!

mail ~ at ~ elainekreston ~ dot ~ com

+ + +