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Photo by Shervin Lainez
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Photo by Shervin Lainez
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Photo by Shervin Lainez
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Photo by Shervin Lainez
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Photo by Shervin Lainez
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Photo by Shervin Lainez
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Photo by Shervin Lainez
Healing with Music – Immunity
Well-Being Concerts at Carnegie Hall
Awakening: Cello Concerto
Riding Light
Living the Classical Life-10 Years Later
Everyday Bach
Tornado (with the JACK Quartet)

“The soloist was Joshua Roman, a cellist of ­extraordinary technical and musical gifts. His ­Symphony debut, in fact, was so striking in so many ways that it left a listener eager for something more….It’s rare to hear a cellist tear through this high-flying ­passagework so ­beautifully and ­precisely – with never a note out of tune or out of place— and rarer still to hear it done with such ­offhanded ­panache.”

San Francisco Chronicle

“…a cellist of bold ­character and poetic grace…a ­masterful ­player who brings ­curiosity and ­electrical ­energy to every note.“

The Plain Dealer

“The CPO was lucky to have cello phenom Joshua Roman as their soloist, as one can hardly imagine a finer protagonist for this genre-spanning score. Roman has spent much of his young career straddling styles and innovating in the spaces between them, and was unphased by the significant demands Tan places on the soloist. From the languid erhu-channeling slides of the opening, to the use of a metallic pick to evoke a pipa sonority on the cello, Roman was a commanding solo presence, clearly enjoying himself as he performed the involved solo part from memory.”

Chicago Classical Review

“Roman, for whom the Cello Concerto was ­composed, played as if he owned it, with a fine ­balance of brilliance and expressivity.”

The Dallas Morning News

“Roman, though, provided the main share of showmanship, coursing through the fast outer movements of the Schumann with a blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom. In the central slow movement, he brought out a vein of sensuous melancholy that went straight to the heart.”

SF Chronicle

“Joshua Roman’s Soulful Performance…Tavener’s “Veil” is known to take liberties during the cello solos. This exaggerated approach is effective, especially when a cellist like Joshua Roman is playing. He creatively crafted and conjured the “Veil” that symbolizes the Mother of God throughout. The string ensemble was absolutely gorgeous in their sound and the supportive moments when Joshua Roman played solo. The audience was still and quiet until the final notes were finished. Everyone was in contemplation of the evening’s unfurling wonders.”

Operawire

“He regaled the enthralled house with an ­encore best ­described as a spontaneous combustion of styles, ­performed with all the intensity of a rock ­guitar soloist. This was a ­dazzlingly fast, ­improvisatory romp through folksy fiddling, ­furious strumming and chording, and ­staccato percussive ­effects I never thought possible with a cello. Was that smoke I saw rising from his bow?”

Cleveland Classical

“The evening’s program, led by conductor Jader Bignamini, opened with the Dvorak Concerto in B minor for Cello and Orchestra, featuring cellist Joshua Roman. Roman used a fascinating palette of ­dynamics, ­colors and textures along with tremendous musical momentum and finesse to create an ­absolutely ­captivating interpretation of the piece. He answered his applause with a delightful encore of Mark ­Summer’s wildly creative “Julie-O,” blending folk, pop and rock sounds.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Roman’s flawless cello lines were seemingly effortless expressions of a soul captivated by some great beauty.”

The Columbus Dispatch

Joshua Roman is a cello soloist and composer, hailed for his “effortlessly expressive tone… and playful zest for exploration” (The New York Times), as well as his “extraordinary technical and musical gifts” and “blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom… that goes straight to the heart” (The San Francisco Chronicle). His genre-bending programs and wide-ranging collaborations have grown out of an “enthusiasm for musical evolution that is as contagious as his love for the classics” (The Seattle Times).

Committed to bringing classical music to new audiences, Roman opened the acclaimed 2017 TED Conference — and his performance of the complete Bach Cello Suites after the 2016 U.S. presidential election was the most-viewed event in the history of TED’s social channels, with nearly a million live viewers. Roman has collaborated with world-class artists across genres and disciplines, including Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Tony-winner/MacArthur Genius Bill T. Jones, GRAMMY®-winning East African vocalist Somi, and Tony-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith.

As a soloist, Roman’s “exceptionally high quality of performances” (The Los Angeles Times) combine “the expressive control of Casals with the creative individuality and virtuoso flair of Hendrix himself” (Gramophone). He has performed with leading orchestras around the United States and the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, New World Symphony, Toronto Symphony, BBC Scottish, and Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, and he was principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony from age 22 to 24.

Roman’s singular 2024-25 season opens with the launch of his ambitious and deeply personal project Immunity, an intimate musical exploration of his life-altering experience of ongoing Long COVID, with music ranging from J.S. Bach to George Crumb to Caroline Shaw, as well as Roman’s own compositions. A recording of the full program will be released October 4 on Bright Shiny Things, coinciding with a tour where Roman will perform music from Immunity in Long COVID clinics across the United States, including New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, St. Louis, and more. By sharing music and community with other Long COVID patients, Roman aims to raise awareness of the condition and communicate the project’s core message of finding strength in vulnerability.

Additional 2024-25 highlights include a national Trio tour with violinist Tessa Lark and double bassist Edgar Meyer, the world premiere of a new Cello Concerto composed by James Lee III with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, two Well-Being concerts with Carnegie Hall, a residency at Stanford University that will center around Immunity, concerto performances with the Pacific Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and Asheville Symphony, and solo recitals around the country.

Roman has long been a leader and innovator in his use of digital and social media, with projects like his Popper Etude videos amassing nearly two million views. His solo performance with the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall was viewed by 33 million people across almost 200 countries, with Yo-Yo Ma introducing him as “one of the great exemplars of the ideal 21st century musician.”

As a composer, Roman has been commissioned by Music Academy of the West, Illinois Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Girls Chorus, Grace Cathedral, and more, and he has written for the JACK Quartet, violinist Vadim Gluzman, and conductor David Danzmayr. Equally accomplished as an interpreter of the music of other contemporary composers, Roman has premiered works by Mason Bates, Reena Esmail, Timo Andres, Gabriela Lena Frank, Aaron Jay Kernis, Lisa Bielawa, and others. Roman also curated a forward-looking chamber music series at Town Hall in Seattle for 15 years, presenting artists like Jennifer Koh, JACK Quartet, Sō Percussion, and more.

A native of Oklahoma City, Roman began playing the cello at the age of three on a quarter-size instrument and gave his first public recital at age 10. He went on to pursue his musical studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Richard Aaron and Desmond Hoebig, former principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra. Roman plays an 1830 Giovanni Francesco Pressenda on a generous loan through The Stradivari Society of Chicago.

AUGUST 2024