Nicholas Canellakis is one of today’s most sought-after and innovative cellists, whose career seamlessly blends traditional classical performance with boundary-pushing creative ventures. He performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and is also a composer/arranger, artistic curator, teacher, and filmmaker, with comedic digital content that has reached millions of views worldwide.
Recent highlights include concerto appearances with the Orlando, Virginia, Albany, Delaware, Stamford, Richardson, Lansing, and Bangor Symphonies, the Erie Philharmonic, The Orchestra Now, the New Haven Symphony as Artist-in-Residence, and the American Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. He tours extensively in recital throughout the U.S. with his longtime duo collaborator, pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown, with recent appearances in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Four Arts in Palm Beach, New Orleans Friends of Chamber Music, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and Wolf Trap near Washington D.C.
Canellakis was recently appointed to the cello faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, his alma mater.
A long-time artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, he appears regularly in Alice Tully Hall and on international tours, including at Wigmore Hall, the Louvre, the Seoul Arts Center, and the National Concert Halls of Shanghai and Taipei. He is also a frequent guest at leading festivals such as Santa Fe, Music@Menlo, Bridgehampton, La Jolla, Moab, Chamberfest Cleveland, and Rockport. As Artistic Director of Chamber Music Sedona in Arizona, he has revitalized the organization with dynamic programming, education initiatives, and community engagement.
His latest album (b)romance, featuring original compositions and arrangements with pianist Michael Stephen Brown, was released on First Hand Records in 2023.
Equally active beyond the concert stage, Canellakis is an accomplished filmmaker, actor, and comedian. His short films My New Cello and the award-winning Thin Walls were screened at major film festivals and are now available to stream online, while his comedic shorts and creative content have amassed over 40 million views across digital platforms. His unique ability to merge humor, storytelling, and music has made him a distinctive voice in the classical world and beyond.
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory, Canellakis studied with Orlando Cole, Peter Wiley, Paul Katz, and Madeleine Golz. He began his Chamber Music Society career in the Bowers Program (formerly CMS Two) and was in residence at Carnegie Hall with Ensemble Connect.
He performs on a distinguished 1840 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume cello.