Rainer Crosett, cello

 American cellist Rainer Crosett has appeared as a soloist on major stages throughout the United States and Europe and has performed in many renowned chamber music festivals. He came to international attention as the recipient of the 2018 Pierre Fournier Award, which supports exceptionally talented young cellists through a debut recital at the Wigmore Hall as well as a concerto appearance with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. Rainer also received the Silver Medal and the Artistic Encouragement Award at the 2017 Ima Hogg Competition in Houston, TX, resulting in a debut with the Houston Symphony. And in 2015, Rainer won the New England Conservatory Concerto Competition, resulting in his Jordan Hall debut with the NEC Philharmonia under Hugh Wolff.

As a chamber musician, he has performed at numerous festivals including Yellow Barn, Music@Menlo, the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, Prussia Cove, La Jolla SummerFest, the Perlman Music Program, and Kneisel Hall. He has also collaborated in performance with artists such as Robert Levin, the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Seth Knopp, Laurence Lesser, Cho-Liang Lin, Anthony Marwood, Donald and Vivian Weilerstein, Kim Kashkashian, and the Parker Quartet.

Rainer is a graduate of the Harvard-New England Conservatory Joint Program. He received his M.M. with honors from New England Conservatory and his A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy from Harvard, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior and was named a John Harvard Scholar. He is also a recipient of the Artist Diploma from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and is currently pursuing further graduate studies at the Berlin University of the Arts, as the recipient of a grant from the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund. He has received inspiration through masterclasses with notable cellists such as David Geringas, Frans Helmerson, Steven Isserlis, Yo-Yo Ma, and Bernard Greenhouse. His principal teachers and mentors have included Jens Peter Maintz, Ralph Kirshbaum, Paul Katz, and Mark Churchill.