Meta Weiss
American cellist Meta Weiss (pronounced MAY-ta) made her international debut at the age of seven in Utrecht, Holland and has established herself as one of the leading artists of her generation. An acclaimed soloist and chamber musician, her performances have taken her to venues throughout the US and internationally, including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Boston Symphony Hall, The Kimmel Center, Royal Albert Hall, The Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Recital Centre and Teatro Britanico in Peru. 2018 concerto highlights include Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations with the Southern Cross Soloists, Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Melbourne Youth Orchestra and Sollima Violoncelles Vibrez! with Camerata Chamber Orchestra.
She has garnered top prizes in numerous competitions, including Irving M. Klein International String Competition, Washington International, Seattle Ladies Musical Club, Carmel Music Society, Schadt Cello Competition and Yamaha Young Performing Artist Award. As a member of the cello-rock group Break of Reality, she was selected by the US Department of State as a “musical ambassador” for the American Music Abroad Program, touring across America, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Brazil. Weiss has been featured in NPR on many occasions, including as guest artist on the shows A Prairie Home Companion, Performance Today, Northwest Focus Live! and From the Top. Her album Entendre (Sono Luminus) is the winner of the Violoncello Foundation Listener’s Choice Award. Other albums include A Dué Celli, recorded in San Francisco at the legendary Studio Trilogy with cellist David Requiro as the Weiss-Requiro Duo, and a forthcoming album of Czech piano trios on the Decca Label with the Streeton Trio.
Weiss has been appointed as Senior Instructor and Chamber Music Coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder starting in 2019, where she will be responsible for the coordination of all chamber music throughout the College of Music. From 2015-2018 she served as Senior Lecturer in Cello and Head of Chamber Music at the Queensland Conservatorium. Previous faculty positions include Artist-in-Residence at the University of Puget Sound, Visiting Professor at the Vanke Meisha Arts Academy in Shenzhen, China and Cello Fellow in Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program. She has served as artist-faculty at festivals such as Icicle Creek Chamber Music Institute, Olympic Music Festival, Manchester Music Festival, Melbourne Cello Festival, Port Fairy Spring Music Festival and Coramba Chamber Music Festival.
Weiss began the cello at age four and has studied with Joel Krosnick, Darrett Adkins, Norman Fischer, Irene Sharp, Joan Jeanrenaud and Michael Reynolds. She received her Bachelor of Music from Rice University, graduating magna cum laude and both her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts at The Juilliard School as a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow and a SYLFF Fellow.
Weiss performs on a Gioffredo Cappa cello, c. 1690, generously provided for her by an anonymous supporter.