Nicholas Canellakis is one of today’s most sought-after and innovative cellists, whose career seamlessly blends traditional classical performance with boundary-pushing creative ventures. He performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and is also a composer/arranger, artistic curator, teacher, and filmmaker, with comedic digital content that has reached millions of views worldwide.
Recent highlights include concerto appearances with the Orlando, Virginia, Albany, Delaware, Stamford, Richardson, Lansing, and Bangor Symphonies, the Erie Philharmonic, The Orchestra Now, the New Haven Symphony as Artist-in-Residence, and the American Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. He tours extensively in recital throughout the U.S. with his longtime duo collaborator, pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown.
A long-time artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Canellakis appears regularly in Alice Tully Hall and on international tours, including at Wigmore Hall, the Louvre, the Seoul Arts Center, and the National Concert Halls of Shanghai and Taipei. He is also a frequent guest at leading festivals such as Santa Fe, Music@Menlo, Bridgehampton, La Jolla, Moab, Chamberfest Cleveland, and Rockport. As Artistic Director of Chamber Music Sedona in Arizona, he has revitalized the organization with dynamic programming, education initiatives, and community engagement.
An avid teacher, Canellakis is on the cello faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, his alma mater.
His latest album, b(romance), featuring original works and arrangements with pianist Michael Stephen Brown, was released on First Hand Records in 2023. Also active as a filmmaker and comedian, his short films My New Cello and the award-winning Thin Walls were screened at major festivals, while his comedic shorts have earned over 40 million views online.
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and New England Conservatory, he studied with Orlando Cole, Peter Wiley, Paul Katz, and Madeleine Golz. He performs on an 1840 Jean Baptiste Vuillaume cello.
