Evan D. Kahn, cellist

California-based cellist Evan Kahn has been praised as “a cellist deserved of serious listening” for bringing his “electrifying … nuanced and colorful” style to all of his collaborations, from concerti to chamber music to contemporary performances. He has commissioned and premiered over 60 works by composers from around the world, including his father’s Cello Concerto.

Evan holds principal positions in four orchestras — San Francisco Opera, New Century Chamber Orchestra, Opera San Jose, and the San Jose Chamber Orchestra. Dedicated to the orchestral craft, he has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, LA Opera, San Francisco Symphony, and as acting principal cellist with the Britt Music and Arts Festival. In April/May 2018, he served as Artist-in-Residence with Performance Today at NPR, sharing some of his favorite works for cello and his philosophies on music and life. In February 2019, he was named Musical America’s New Artist of the Month. He is resident cellist for a number of Bay Area small ensembles, including Ninth Planet, After Everything, and the Farallon Quintet.

Evan attended Aspen Music Festival on a fellowship for four summers, where he studied with Darrett Adkins and played co-principal in the Aspen Academy of Conducting Orchestra, the Aspen Philharmonic as an Orchestral Leadership Fellow, and as a fellow in the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. Other summers were spent playing chamber music at the Taos School of Music, as resident cellist at the Cactus Pear Music Festival in San Antonio, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar, where he served as principal cellist.

Evan received a Master’s in Chamber Music at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Jennifer Culp. He graduated with college and university honors from Carnegie Mellon University, studying with David Premo. Before college, he took lessons in Los Angeles with John Walz, Timothy Loo, and Karen Patch. Other important mentors include Paul Hersh, Thomas Loewenheim, Amos Yang, Mark Kosower, Robert DeMaine, and Bonnie Hampton.

In addition to performing and teaching, Evan enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons and watching British television. He plays on a cello by Italian luthier Carlo Carletti, c. 1900, and a bow made for cellist Lynn Harrell by archetier Paul Martin Siefried.