David Caplan, cello
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Hailing from Skokie, Illinois, cellist David Caplan recently completed graduate studies at the University of Michigan, studying with Amir Eldan. Previous teachers include Daniel Mcdonough, Dmitry Kouzov, Jonathan Pegis, Benjamin Whitcomb, and Adelaide Hagari. David, along with Quartet Bellezza, won the junior division gold medal at the 2017 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and first prize/audience prize in the junior division of WDAV's Young Musician's Chamber Competition. David was also a finalist in the 2020 Coltman Chamber Music Competition, with Trio Verite.
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David has appeared as soloist and chamber musician on NPR's From the Top as a Jack Ken Cooke Young Artist in Longview, Texas, and Reno, Nevada. Recent chamber music engagements include
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concerts in Kansas City and the University of Kansas with the St. Petersburg String Quartet, a world premiere performance for mezzo-soprano and cello at Northwestern University, a performance of Schubert's Trout Quintet with Yaron Kohlberg, Fabiola Kim, Yizhak Schotten, and Nicholas Walker at the University of Michigan, and a live recital on WFMT Chicago through the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, with pianist Rick Ferguson.
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David is also a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has made appearances at the Aspen Music Festival, the Taos School of Music, the Chautauqua Festival, and the Grant Park Music Festival. David has a burning passion for teaching others and showcasing the power of music, and he has been a frequent guest clinician at Midwest Young Artists' Conservatory, ArtsAhimsa Chamber Music Festival, the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative, Young Music Scholars, and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. David is a co-principal cello of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and has performed as substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Music of The Baroque.