Amanda Forsyth
Encyclopedia
Amanda Forsyth is a Juno Award
-winning Canadian cellist, and is the principal cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra
.
Malcolm Forsyth
, Forsyth came to Canada from South Africa at two years of age and began playing the cello at the age of three. She became a protégé of William Pleeth
in London
and later studied with Harvey Shapiro
at the Juilliard School in New York
and with Lynn Harrell
in Los Angeles
. After two seasons with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra she became the youngest principal ever selected by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra where she remained for six years. In 1999, Forsyth was appointed principal cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra where she is also featured as a soloist each season.
Forsyth is recognised as an eminent recitalist, soloist and chamber musician appearing with leading orchestras and prestigious chamber music festivals worldwide.
Forsyth and her husband, violin
ist Pinchas Zukerman
, appear frequently together as soloists. She has also collaborated with artists who include Lynn Harrell
, Yo-Yo Ma
, Garrick Ohlsson
, Jon Kimura Parker
, Yefim Bronfman
, Joseph Kalichstein
, Jaime Laredo
, Arnold Steinhardt
, Michael Tree
, and Louis Lortie
.
Forsyth is the cellist of the Zukerman Chamber Players
, which has toured worldwide since 2003. She also recently collaborated with Wynton Marsalis
in New York, recording the sound track for Ken Burns
’ 7-part television film about World War II
to be produced for PBS.
Amanda Forsyth performs on a 1699 cello by Carlo Giuseppe Testore
.
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
-winning Canadian cellist, and is the principal cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra
National Arts Centre Orchestra
The National Arts Centre Orchestra is an orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital. It is a classically-sized ensemble currently conducted by Pinchas Zukerman.-Description:Since 1998, Pinchas Zukerman has been the Music Director. Mario Bernardi C.C...
.
Biography
Daughter of composerComposer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Malcolm Forsyth
Malcolm Forsyth
Malcolm Forsyth, CM was a South African and Canadian trombonist and composer. His daughter is National Arts Centre Orchestra cellist Amanda Forsyth....
, Forsyth came to Canada from South Africa at two years of age and began playing the cello at the age of three. She became a protégé of William Pleeth
William Pleeth
William Pleeth OBE was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré.- Early years :...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and later studied with Harvey Shapiro
Harvey Shapiro
Harvey Shapiro was a New York-born American cellist of world renown.-Childhood and early career:Harvey Shapiro, of Russian parentage, was born in New York City. His first cello teacher was Willem Willeke , who was both a medical doctor and a well-known cellist of the early 20th century...
at the Juilliard School in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and with Lynn Harrell
Lynn Harrell
Lynn Harrell is an American classical cellist.-Biography:Harrell was born in New York City of musician parents; his father was the baritone Mack Harrell and his mother, Marjorie Fulton, was a violinist. At the age of eight he decided to learn to play the cello. When Lynn was 12, his family moved...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. After two seasons with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra she became the youngest principal ever selected by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra where she remained for six years. In 1999, Forsyth was appointed principal cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra where she is also featured as a soloist each season.
Forsyth is recognised as an eminent recitalist, soloist and chamber musician appearing with leading orchestras and prestigious chamber music festivals worldwide.
Forsyth and her husband, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works...
, appear frequently together as soloists. She has also collaborated with artists who include Lynn Harrell
Lynn Harrell
Lynn Harrell is an American classical cellist.-Biography:Harrell was born in New York City of musician parents; his father was the baritone Mack Harrell and his mother, Marjorie Fulton, was a violinist. At the age of eight he decided to learn to play the cello. When Lynn was 12, his family moved...
, Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
, Garrick Ohlsson
Garrick Ohlsson
Garrick Ohlsson is an American classical pianist.Ohlsson was the first American to win first prize in the International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition, in 1970. He also won first prize at the Busoni Competition in Italy and the Montreal Piano Competition in Canada...
, Jon Kimura Parker
Jon Kimura Parker
Jon Kimura Parker, OC is a Canadian pianist.- Biography :He was born in Vancouver, Canada, the son of Keiko Parker and the nephew of Edward Parker.He appeared with the Vancouver Youth Orchestra when he was five...
, Yefim Bronfman
Yefim Bronfman
Yefim "Fima" Naumovich Bronfman is a Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist.-Biography:He was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and emigrated to Israel at the age of 15...
, Joseph Kalichstein
Joseph Kalichstein
Joseph Kalichstein is a renowned Israeli-born American classical pianist who performs in the concerto, solo recital and chamber music repertoire, the latter mainly with Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson in the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio...
, Jaime Laredo
Jaime Laredo
Jaime Laredo is a violinist and conductor. Currently the conductor and Music Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, he began his musical career when he was five years old. In 1948 he came to North America and took lessons from Antonio DeGrass...
, Arnold Steinhardt
Arnold Steinhardt
Arnold Steinhardt , is an American violinist, best known as the first violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet....
, Michael Tree
Michael Tree
Michael Tree is an American violist, born in Newark, New Jersey.-Biography:Michael Tree's principal studies were with Efrem Zimbalist on violin and viola at the Curtis Institute of Music...
, and Louis Lortie
Louis Lortie
Louis Lortie, OC, CQ is a French-Canadian pianist. He currently lives in Berlin.He is known for his interpretation of Ravel, Chopin and Beethoven...
.
Forsyth is the cellist of the Zukerman Chamber Players
Zukerman Chamber Players
The Zukerman Chamber Players is a world-renowned chamber ensemble led by violinist and violist Pinchas Zukerman. Formed in 2003, they have performed over 40 concerts around the world and recorded two CDs....
, which has toured worldwide since 2003. She also recently collaborated with Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
in New York, recording the sound track for Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
’ 7-part television film about World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to be produced for PBS.
Amanda Forsyth performs on a 1699 cello by Carlo Giuseppe Testore
Carlo Giuseppe Testore
Carlo Giuseppe Testore was an Italian luthier, who worked in his later life in Milan. He was born at Novara.Testore, a student of Giovanni Grancino's, went to Milan in 1687 and had his workshop at the sign of the eagle in the Contrada larga...
.
Selected recordings
- Soaring with Agamemnon
- Electra Rising: The Music of Malcolm Forsyth
- Zukerman Conducts Mozart
- American Journey
- Palm Court Encores
- Mozart: Flute Quartets