Basic
First Name:
Eric
Last Name:
Schindler
City:
Washington
State:
Washington
Country:
USA
First Year:
2023
Last Year:
2027
Biography
Birthday:
11/19/2004
About:
2023 National MTNA Senior Strings winner Eric Schindler, age 18 from Seattle, Washington enjoys making music as a cello soloist and as both a chamber and orchestral musician. He is currently studying for his bachelor’s degree in cello performance with Laurence Lesser at New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. Eric was a member of the Seattle Youth Symphony’s Junior and Senior Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Washington All-State and All-Northwest Symphony Orchestras. He has also performed as a soloist with the Seattle Youth Chamber Orchestra and Philharmonia Northwest Orchestra. In 2022, Eric was awarded First Place at the final Concerto Playoff Concert for the Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside (PAFE), was awarded the PAFE Frances Walton Artist Award for Cello/Bass, and in the years 2022 and 2023 won First Place at WMEA State Solo & Ensemble Contest for cello. He was a finalist for the 2022 KING FM Young Artist Award, for the NPR show “From The Top,” and for the Seattle Symphony Young Artist award. Eric developed a love for the cello at the age of four; at age 11, he started studying with Dr. Kevin Krentz at the Krentz Cello Studio. He has performed chamber music with the help of many string coaches, including Simon James, and Joseph Gottesman. Eric was a member of Morningside Music Bridge in 2023 and was the principal cellist of the MMB String Orchestra, directed by Karl Hirzer. During his time at MMB, Eric had masterclasses and private lessons with Zvi Plesser, Matt Haimowitz, Wei Yu, Tomasz Strahl, Nathan Vickery, Andres Diaz, and Clara Kim. Over the past several years, Eric has taken lessons from Efe Baltacigil, Nathan Chan, John Henry-Crawford, and David Ying. He was a participant in the inaugural season of the Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Academy, coached by Noah Geller, Melisa Barston, Sasha Starcevich, Rachel Lee Priday, Anne Marie McDermott, Efe Baltacigil, and Ani Aznavoorian. When he isn’t playing his cello, Eric enjoys hiking and skiing in the Pacific Northwest; in 2021, Eric earned his Eagle Scout award from Troop 570 in Kirkland, Washington.
Education:
NEC
Degree:
BM
Other Teachers:
Dr. Kevin Krentz in Seattle, WA