Cicely Parnas, cello

Cellist Cicely Parnas,15, began her formal musical studies at age four and by age nine she debuted as soloist with orchestra and became the youngest ever to take 1st prize in the Berkshire Merit Scholarship Competition. Since then Miss Parnas has emerged as a seasoned performer and young artist having played numerous concerti (eight last season alone), whom critics have recognized as “possessed of prodigious technique and an Olympic gymnast’s poise” playing with “an astonishing mix of pungency and finesse.” This season Cicely’s guest soloist appearances include the New York String Orchestra with Jaime Laredo conducting, the Albany Symphony under David Alan Miller, the Catskill Symphony, and the Georgia Philharmonic. An avid chamber musician, Cicely joins sister violinist Madalyn in the Parnas Duo performing at the highest caliber and displaying the power of a genetic musical voice and intuition. They were awarded 1st prize in the 2008 International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition at Weill Recital Hall and have been featured in numerous national and regional magazines, as well as on national and local radio broadcasts. This season the Duo will perform with the great artist Peter Serkin in a program of piano trios, as well as in concert at the Grand Montgomery Chamber Music Series, the Renaissance Musical Arts Chamber Series, and the Massry Center for the Arts, among others. In early 2008 celebrating ten years of sibling music making, the Parnas sisters released their debut CD, "PARNAS DOUBLE: Duos for Violin and Cello.” This first recording has earned international recognition for excellence, and a second is presently in the works. Miss Parnas continues taking top prize in competition; in a single year Cicely won three first prizes and was a winner of the National ASTA Solo Competition. Her exquisite tone and instinctive musicality are fueled by a limitless generosity and fearlessness in performance, indeed reminding us of her grandfather, the great cellist Leslie Parnas. Cicely is a student of world-renowned cellist Peter Wiley and studies chamber music with Peter Serkin. This year she begins her liberal arts education as a Music Industry major at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. Cicely plays a violoncello crafted by William Forster in 1790 while he was living in London.