Musician Instrument: Cello

Born in 1984 in Harbin, China, P.R.C., Nan started studying cello when she was 5 years old. She attended the Primary School of Shanghai Conservatory, Middle School of Central Conservatory in Beijing, and Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, California. She holds an Artist Certificate Diploma from Southern Methodist University.

Cellist Emileigh Brooke Vandiver brings people together through the humanity of music, cello in tow. Described by the Boston Musical Intelligencer as a musician who conveys “a world of emotional meaning to the cello,” Ms. Vandiver’s performances, teaching, and community engagement reflect her desire to reverse the current trend of social isolation and reconnect people across cultures.

Kari Kettering joined the Dallas Symphony in 2003. A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, she completed her Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and Master of Music at Indiana University where she studied with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi.

Cellist Jennifer Choi joined the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in September of 2019. She was a cello fellow at the New World Symphony from 2017-2018 and prior to joining the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, she held the position of section cellist at the Colorado Symphony from 2018-2019.

Jeffrey Hood, from Portage, Michigan, began playing the cello at the age of 2 with a toy guitar and a chopstick for a bow and began real cello lessons a year later. Hood graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and received a Bachelor of Music Degree and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music and a master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Cellist Jolyon Pegis is from Rochester NY.  He attended Indiana University and the University of Hartford and his principal teachers include Alan Harris, Gary Hoffman, and David Wells. Mr Pegis is a winner of the Artists International Awards in New York. He subsequently made his New York recital debut at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1990 and has since appeared as a recitalist and chamber musician across the country.

Theodore Harvey, cellist with the Dallas Symphony since September 2008, has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestra member throughout North America, South America and Europe. He has been a soloist with the New World Symphony, the (Bloomington, Ind.) Camerata Orchestra and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.