EVAN KAHN
Native to Los Angeles, cellist Evan Kahn has been praised as “a cellist deserved of serious listening” for bringing his “electrifying … nuanced and colorful” style to all of his collaborations, from concerti to chamber music to contemporary performances. Intensely passionate about new music and music of non-Western cultures, he has commissioned and premiered over 50 works by composers from around the world, including his father’s Cello Concerto.
Native to Los Angeles, cellist Evan Kahn has been praised as “a cellist deserved of serious listening” for bringing his “electrifying … nuanced and colorful” style to all of his collaborations, from concerti to chamber music to contemporary performances. Intensely passionate about new music and music of non-Western cultures, he has commissioned and premiered over 50 works by composers from around the world, including his father’s Cello Concerto.
Evan attended Aspen Music Festival on a fellowship, where he studied with Juilliard professor Darrett Adkins and played co-principal in the Aspen Academy of Conducting Orchestra, the Aspen Sinfonia Concertante, and the Aspen Philharmonic as an Orchestral Leadership Fellow. In summer 2016, he served as one of 40 student fellows in the Piatigorsky Cello Festival — fellows hand-picked from conservatories around the world — and in summer 2017, Evan attended the Taos School of Music to work with the Brentano, Borromeo, and Shanghai Quartets.
Evan received a Master’s in Chamber Music at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Jennifer Culp. He graduated with college and university honors from Carnegie Mellon University, studying with David Premo. Before college, he took lessons with LA Opera principal cellist John Walz and Lyris Quartet cellist Timothy Loo. Other important mentors include Paul Hersh, Thomas Loewenheim, Amos Yang, Ian Swensen, and Bonnie Hampton.
In addition to performing and teaching, Evan enjoys making curry, reading postmodern fiction, and watching The Great British Bake Off. He plays on a cello by Italian luthier Carlo Carletti, c. 1900.
ROBERT HOWARD
A native of Atlanta, GA, Robert began studying cello at age 12. Graduate of Rice University and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has studied and performed at festivals such as Tanglewood, Spoleto, Verbier, the Accademia Chigiana, and the Sandor Vegh Academy in Prague. Robert won first prize in the Rome Festival Competition and has received grants from the Maggini and Virtu Foundations. Robert has performed in the Festival Internacional de Musica in Costa Rica, the Festival de Guadarama in Spain, and on the Mostly Mozart series in Lincoln Center. He has performed with American Bach Soloists, New Century Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque, and the San Francisco Symphony. A regular guest on many Bay Area chamber music series, Robert has also made concerto appearances with BARS Orchestra and Stanford Symphony. He has worked directly with composers such as Osvaldo Golijov, Gabriela Frank, George Perle, George Benjamin, and Jonathan Berger. Robert runs his own house concert series, concertsbythesquare.org, which combine thematically linked chamber music programs with food and short lecture presentations. A passionate teacher, he has made two trips to Kenya, where he taught and performed. He has coached at San Francisco Conservatory, Stanford University, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, and the Conservatorio Superior Coruña in Spain.