Cellist Oliver Herbert Receives Avery Fisher Career Grant

Cellist Oliver Herbert has received a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant. Herbert joins Sterling Elliott (cellist), Geneva Lewis (violinist), Kevin Zhu (violinist) and Eric Lu (pianist) in receiving the prestigious award. Today, March 11 at 5:00PM EST the grants were announced in a special 1-hour-long program hosted by Elliott Forrest on New York City's classical radio station WQXR 105.9 FM and at wqxr.org. Due to ongoing Covid restrictions, a virtual ceremony will be livestreamed at 7:00PM EST on WQXR and at wqxr.org.

The virtual ceremony features additional recorded performances from each of the recipients as well as short recipient interviews, and will be archived for on-demand viewing on the Avery Fisher Artist Program website at averyfisherartistprogram.org. The WQXR 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant announcement radio program will be repeated on Saturday, March 13 at 7:00PM EST.

The 2021 Career Grants continue a long-standing philanthropic tradition started by the late Avery Fisher as part of a major gift to Lincoln Center in 1974. The program is designed to give professional assistance and recognition to talented instrumentalists, as well as chamber ensembles, who the Recommendation Board and Executive Committee of the Avery Fisher Artist Program believe to have great potential for major careers. Former Career Grant recipients include cellist Jay Campbell; violinists Augustin Hadelich and Anne Akiko Meyers; flutists Demarre McGill and Tara Helen O'Connor; and pianist Awadagin Pratt.

Oliver Herbert is quickly building a reputation as an artist with a distinct voice and individual style. Performing a wide range of repertoire, Oliver's recent solo and recital appearances include debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony SoundBox, Union College Concert Series, and the Dame Myra Hess Recital Series in Chicago, among others. As a chamber musician, Oliver is frequently invited to participate in music festivals such as the Caramoor Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, Krzyżowa Music, Music in the Vineyards, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, and Ravinia Festival. He frequently collaborates with pianist Xiaohui Yang as a recital duo on tours in both the United States and Greece. In 2020 they released their debut recording featuring the music of Fauré and Janáček. He is also part of a trio with violinist Alexi Kenney and fellow Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Eric Lu.

Oliver's additional recording highlights include Haydn's D Major Cello Concerto with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. Recent awards include a top prize and special prize in the XI Lutoslawski International Cello Competition, first prize and Pablo Casals prize in the 2015 Irving M. Klein International String Competition, and the Prix Jean-Nicolas Firmenich at the 2017 Verbier Festival. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Colburn School, Oliver studied cello performance with Carter Brey, Peter Wiley, and Clive Greensmith.

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