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“Sterling Elliot has the press nomenclature (as a 2021 Avery Fisher Grant winner) of being a rising star, however, that is not correct: he is a star cellist who has risen beyond hopeful promise to astonishing maturity. If you see his name on an upcoming venue, take the leap, and hear what he is up to, no matter what the program offers.”
Acclaimed for his stellar stage presence and joyous musicianship, cellist Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. Already in his young career, he has appeared with major orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and the Dallas Symphony, with noted conductors Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Thomas Wilkins, Jeffrey Kahane, Mei Ann Chen and others.
In the 2024/2025 season Sterling Elliott debuts with the Atlanta Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, Des Moines Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony and returns to the Wilmington Symphony. He joins the Madison Symphony for the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Gil and Orli Shaham and returns to Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s led by Louis Langree.
As the YCAT–Music Masters Robey Artist with the London-based Young Classical Artists Trust he will Tour New Zealand in addition to appearances at Wigmore Hall, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and others. This season he also begins his tenure as a BBC New Generation Artist with radio appearances and more.
This season Mr. Elliott begins his three-year residency in the Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center appearing with CMLSC at Alice Tully Hall and on tour throughout the U.S.
During the 2023/2024 season Elliott debuted with the Minnesota Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Pacific Symphony, San Antonio Symphony and New Jersey Symphony. He performed the world premiere of a new orchestral version of John Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria, commissioned for him by a consortium of orchestras including the Orlando Philharmonic and music director Eric Jacobsen. In Europe his appearances through the Young Classical Artist Trust included his Wigmore Hall debut.
In Summer 2023, he made his orchestral debut with the San Francisco Symphony; performed chamber music with Nicola Benedetti, Stefan Jackiw and others at the Edinburgh Festival; and made a return appearance at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Sterling has a long history with the Sphinx Organization where he won the 2014 Junior Division Competition, becoming the first alumnus from the Sphinx Performance Academy to win the Sphinx Competition. The following year he went on to tour with the Sphinx Virtuosi before being awarded the Organization’s Isaac Stern Award in 2016. Last season, Sterling received the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, awarded to artists who, early in their career, demonstrate artistic excellence, outstanding work ethic, a spirit of determination, and an ongoing commitment to leadership and their communities.
Born into a musical household, Sterling initially wanted to play the violin like his older brother and sister. After a bit of encouragement, he completed The Elliott Family String Quartet, an ensemble that enjoyed personalized arrangements of genres such as bluegrass, gospel, and funk music.
Sterling is pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim, following completion of his Master of Music and undergraduate degrees at Juilliard. He is an ambassador of the Young Strings of America, a string sponsorship operated by Shar Music. He performs on a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.
September 25, 2024. Please discard previously dated materials and contact zarco@colbertartists.com before making any alterations or cuts.