Darrett Adkins, cellist

Darrett Adkins has distinguished himself through critically acclaimed performances of an enormously wide-ranging repertoire. He has performed the standard concerto repertoire with orchestras such as the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the National Symphony of Brazil, and the New Hampshire and North Carolina symphonies. He has also given many important first performances, such as the New York premiere of Luciano Berio’s Sequenza XIV, the first American performance of Franco Donatoni’s concerto Un Ruisseau sur l’Escalier with George Benjamin conducting the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra, and the world premiere of Andrew Mead’s Cello Concerto with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble.  During his tenure with the Flux Quartet, he gave the first complete performance of Morton Feldman’s Quartet II, lasting just over six continuous hours.

Internationally, Adkins was the "Cellist of Honor" at the 2002 Rio International Cello Encounter held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. His solo Oslo debut was attended by King Harald, and in recognition of many performances of Norwegian music and with Norwegian musicians, Adkins was awarded a 2003 Cultural Arts Grant from the American Scandinavian Association.  He was the winner of the Bunkamura Orchard Hall award, which led to concerto and recital appearances throughout Japan. He has been a performer at many of the world’s great music festivals, including Aspen, Tanglewood, the Melbourne Festival, Ojai, and the Oslo Chamber Music Festival.

An accomplished chamber musician, Adkins is a member of Zephyr, a trio composed of flutist Jeanne Galway and pianist Jonathan Feldman. He has recently joined pianist Joseph Schwartz and violinist Stephen Clapp of the Oberlin Trio, and he helped re-establish the Oberlin String Quartet. All three ensembles tour regularly in the United States.

He has recorded as a soloist and chamber musician on various labels, including RCA, CRI, Mode, Naxos, Koch, Tzadic, Cold Blue, and MMC. He is assistant professor of cello at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and holds teaching positions at the Juilliard School and the Aspen Music Festival.

"An adventurous champion of contemporary music."

— Strings Magazine

"The ease and musicality with which Mr. Adkins sailed through … was stunning. Technical challenges did not seem to faze him, and he played with a tone that retained its richness and warmth …. Most crucially, he made the four works sing."

— Allan Kozinn, The New York Times

"Adkins tore into the piece like a daredevil …. I admired his playing … I was amused by [the] lavish display of effects …. sheer technical bravura offers its own pleasure."

— Travis Rivers, The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA)