2025 Online Festival

Dates, location

NCDF 2025 virtual

New Directions Cello Festival Online
Saturday, Feb 22nd on Zoom
Early Bird Pricing: $75 (goes up to $95 at 12:00am EST Feb 3rd)

Guest Artists

KEN JAMES KUBOTA

Raphael Weinroth-Browne (Ottawa, Canada)

Internationally renowned Canadian cellist and composer Raphael Weinroth-Browne has been celebrated for his emotive and virtuosic playing both on stage
and in the studio. Combining his classical training with a passion for progressive metal and Middle Eastern music, he has defied traditional notions of how the cello should sound and developed a unique artistic voice that has consistently resonated with listeners on a deep emotional level.

In 2016, Raphael was recruited by Norwegian progressive rock icons Leprous. His cello has since been featured prominently on their latest three albums and he has played over 200 shows with them in Europe, North America, and the
Middle East. In 2022, he performed with the band at London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall and appeared on opening slots for rock heavyweights Evanescence,
Devin Townsend, and Apocalyptica.

Raphael’s debut solo album, Worlds Within, was released in 2020 to critical acclaim. A haunting 40-minute piece for amplified cello based around cyclical looped patterns and lush reverb-laden soundscapes, the album weaves together elements of ambient music, post rock, modern classical, and progressive metal, standing confidently alongside the work of similar artists such as Sarah Neufeld, Jessica Moss, Zoë Keating, and Jo Quail. Most recently, he performed the album in its entirety at the National Arts Centre of Canada to a sold out audience.

Tumult

Kely Pinheiro 1

Yi-Mei Templeman aka Yeemz (Los Angeles, USA)

Yi-Mei is a cellist, singer-songwriter, and composer from Santa Monica, California who aims to creatively fuse genres in order to welcome people of all backgrounds into her distinctly intimate and emotive storytelling. She is the founding member of internationally acclaimed classical piano trio, Trio Gaia – the most recent trio-in-residence at New England Conservatory. She has been writing music on the piano from a young age, but only began experimenting with singing and playing her cello like a guitar in 2018.

Since then, Yi-Mei (under the artist name, yeemz) has quickly established the roots of a uniquely multi-faceted career, performing and producing her own music, recording and arranging strings for other artists, and scoring music for film, all while performing around the world as a classical cellist, and teaching cello students of all ages.

She has music out on all streaming platforms, which have been featured on multiple Spotify editorial playlists. She is currently releasing her debut album.

Hey, You

Kely Pinheiro 1

Anil Eraslan (Strasbourg, France)

Cellist, composer and improviser Anil Eraslan is working in various musical projects in between Berlin, Paris, Strasbourg and Istanbul. From Anatolian traditional music to experimental/noise/free music, he multiplies his experiences with many ensembles and creative musicians from all over the world. As a filmmaker, he has just finished working on his first feature documentary film ‘Sound Dreams of Istanbul’ about the free improvisation scene in Istanbul.

Solo Performance

Kely Pinheiro 1

Clemens Sainitzer (Vienna, Austria)

Viennese musician Clemens Sainitzer discovered his love for playing the cello at the age of six. After long years of apprenticeship with classical cello teacher Martha Müller-Dennhof, he switched to Munich jazz violinist Mic Oechsner to devote himself entirely to improvised music and jazz.

Clemens Sainitzer has expanded his playing with many novel techniques to allow the cello a worthy place in jazz music as well. These novel techniques and his fresh approach to the instrument make him incomparable to classically trained musicians.

As versatile as the instrument is, so are the projects in which Clemens uses his instrument: the cello/guitar duo “Sain Mus”, the DaDa step band “Hans”, the electro-jazz project “E c h o b o m e r”, or the trio “Artreju”, consisting of trumpet and violin.

Other collaborations with: Marylin Mazur, Sylvie Courvoisier, Ingrid Jensen, Karin Hammar, Camila Meza, Christoph Pepe Auer, Manu Delago, Erich Schleyer, Die Gewürztraminer, The little Band from Gingerland, Karl Ritter, Vienna Improvisers Orchestra, etc.

Mixed Signals

Schedule (Subject to Change)

New Directions Cello Festival Online: Saturday February 22 on Zoom

*all times listed in Eastern Standard Time (EST)

10:00am-11:30am

Anil Eraslan

Workshop: Recipe for an Improvisation + An Exploration of the Microtonality of Turkish-Ottoman Music

Take your cello. Don’t forget your bow—it might come in handy, but who says you need to use it traditionally?

  • 1 cello (seasoned to taste with rosin dust)
  • 1 bow (optional garnish)
  • A generous pinch of courage
  • 2 cups of curiosity
  • A handful of extended techniques (chopped finely or thrown in whole)
  • A sprinkle of mistakes (don’t worry, they add texture)
We can mix these ingredients together with a simple recipe to uncover playful and accessible ways to create music, focusing on listening, interaction and spontaneity with a bonus of an introduction to the microtonality of Turkish-Ottoman music given by the wonderful Anil Eraslan.

(workshop will be followed by a 15-20 minute performance)

11:30am-1:00pm

Raphael Weinroth-Browne

Workshop: Exploring the Creative Possibilities of Alternate Tunings

Explore the endless creative possibilities of alternate tunings with metal cello virtuoso Raphael Weinroth-Browne. Take a deep dive into chord shapes and patterns that translate to a wide range of key centers and modes – a new vocabulary you can implement in your cello compositions. This workshop will provide you with the tools to maximize the potential of the cello as a solo instrument.

(workshop will be followed by a 15-20 minute performance)

1:00-2:00pm BREAK

2:00pm-3:30pm

Clemens Sainitzer
Workshop: Contemporary and Alternative Pizzicato Techniques

In this workshop, different pizzicato and percussive techniques on the cello will be discussed, demonstrated and explored. Clemens will show both right hand and left hand techniques and how combining the two can lead to very interesting results.

From chordal playing to pizzicato patterns to utilizing the body of the cello as a percussion instrument, Clemens will share many techniques and ideas that he has been developing over the last several years which have given him a distinct sound and artistic identity.

(workshop will be followed by a 15-20 minute performance)

3:30-5:00pm

Yi-Mei Templeman aka Yeemz

Workshop: Chord Voicing and Songwriting Workshop

In this workshop, cellists will explore how to craft compelling lyrics while using the cello’s standard tuning as a songwriting asset to create a backdrop of unique chord voicings and textures.

Through interactive songwriting exercises, the group will experiment together with new lyrical perspectives and strategies to reinvigorate experienced cellist-songwriters or inspire new ones!

(workshop will be followed by a 15-20 minute performance)

5:00pm-?

NDCF Online Afterparty, Open Mic and Cello Hang