Cellist Samuel Magill has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since he was appointed Associate Principal Cello in 1991. Prior to that, he played with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Houston Symphony. He began his tenure with the Houston Symphony while a graduate student at Rice University, where he was a pupil of Shirley Trepel.

He studied with the late Zara Nelsova at the Peabody Conservatory where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree. His other principal teachers were Lawrence Lesser, who was a pupil of Piatigorsky, and Irving Klein.

From 1997 to 2005 he was Principal Cellist and featured soloist of the New York Symphonic Ensemble, which tours Japan each summer. With this orchestra he has performed most of the standard cello concertos in some of Japan’s most prestigious venues, such as Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. He has played the Brahms Double Concerto with violinist Mischa Keylin at Alice Tully Hall.

The Artist International Award was given to his trio, Elysian, in 1997. The award provided the unusual flute, cello and harp trio with a Carnegie Hall début at Weill Recital Hall. He is an avid recitalist, performing annually at Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Auditorium since 1994. He has specialised in the music of forgotten Romantic and early twentieth-century composers. His cello was made for him in 1992 by Wendy and Peter Moes.

Discography