Tucson Cello Congress

Tucson Cello Congress 2024

The Tucson Cello Congress annually unites 100 cellists of all ages and experience levels from across the southwest. This event is hosted by the University of Arizona and American String Teacher’s Association and features outstanding guest artists, cello ensemble rehearsals, masterclasses, and a young artist competition. This year’s congress will be held at the University of Arizona School of Music on Saturday, December 7, 2024.

Artistic Directors:

Dr. Theodore Buchholz: University of Arizona Cello Professor
Mary Beth Tyndall: Cello Faculty at Rocky Ridge Music Academy

Be sure to stop by the Southwest Strings table to interact with one of the world’s leading vendors of string instruments and supplies.

Schedule

More information and copies of the sheet music will be sent out once you register. Questions may be directed to Theodore Buchholz at [email protected].

Featured Guest Artists

Thomas Loewenheim

Thomas Loewenheim maintains an international career that combines cello performance, conducting, and teaching. He has toured North America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East, performing as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. He is Professor of Cello and Director of Orchestras at California State University, Fresno, Music Director and conductor of the Youth Orchestras of Fresno, and founding Artistic Director of the FOOSA Festival/Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy. Noted for his ability to lead any orchestra to peak performance level efficiently and enjoyably, Loewenheim is much in demand on the honor orchestra circuit. As conductor he has collaborated with numerous soloists, among them violinists Vadim Gluzman, Richard Lin, and Rachel Barton Pine, cellists Lynn Harrell, Clive Greensmith, and Brinton Smith, and pianists Peter Klimo, Steven Vanhauwaert, and Jeremy Denk.

As a cello soloist in his own right, he has most recently premiered Daniel Akiva’s Requests for Cello and Orchestra, a concerto dedicated specifically to Loewenheim. Loewenheim has been a guest artist at prominent music festivals around the world, among them the Montecito International Music Festival, the Music in the Mountains Festival and Conservatory in Durango, Colorado, and, in California, both CSU Summer Arts in Fresno, and the Chamber Music Unbound Festival in Mammoth Lakes…as well as his own FOOSA Festival/Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy.

Loewenheim’s discography includes conducted works as well as works for cello solo. Newly released is a CD on the Tonsehen label of Loewenheim conducting Mahler 5 with the FOOSA Philharmonic. Upcoming recordings will feature the same orchestra in two works from the first quarter of the 20th century: Sergei Lyapunov’s Piano Sextet and Ernest Bloch’s Concerto Grosso. An upcoming solo CD features virtuosic works for cello by Bach, Handel, Rózsa, and Ysaÿe.

Loewenheim earned a doctorate in cello performance from the renowned Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he studied with Janos Starker and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and was mentored in conducting by David Effron. He received a master’s degree from the University of Michigan under Erling Blöndal Bengtsson and a bachelor’s degree from the Rubin Academy for Music and Dance in Jerusalem. He plays a Jean Baptiste Vuillaume cello made in 1848.

Thomas Landschoot

Praised for his expressive, virtuoso and poetic music making, Belgian cellist Tom Landschoot enjoys an international career as a concert and recording artist and pedagogue. He has toured North America, Europe, South America and Asia and has appeared on national radio and television worldwide. His solo career started after taking a top prize at the International Cello Competition ‘Jeunesse Musicales’ in 1995 in Bucharest, Romania. He has performed with the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Frankfurt Chamber Orchestra, Tempe Symphony, Prima la Musica, the Symphony of the Southwest, Shieh Chien Symphony Orchestra, Scottsdale Philharmonic, Flemish Symphony Orchestra, Kaohsiung City Symphony, Loja Symphony Orchestra in Ecuador and the Orchestra of the United States Army Band and has appeared at Barge Music, Park City, Santa Barbara, Mammoth Lakes, Eureka, Utah, Red Rock, Park City, Manchester, Fresno, Madeline Island, Waterloo, Killington and Texas Music Festivals. His recordings are available on Summit, Organic, Kokopelli, ArchiMusic and Centaur Records.

Tucson Cello Congress Young Artist Competition

We are proud to host the Tucson Cello Congress Young Artist Competition for highly prepared students. Please consult your private teacher to determine eligibility.

Competition Levels

Level 1: Students in the 8th grade and below
Level 2: Students in 9th-12th grade
Level 3: College students up to 24 years of age

Competition Prizes

Level 1: $100
Level 2: $200
Level 3: $300 The Kathy Krause Prize for Excellence in Cello

Competition Repertoire and Time Limits

Level 1 will have a preliminary time limit of 5 minutes and a final time limit of 8 minutes, and the repertoire should be at the Suzuki Book Two level or above. Levels 2 and 3 will have a preliminary time limit of 8 minutes and a final time limit of 10 minutes and repertoire will be any concerto movement, Bach suite movement, or showpiece. The preliminaries will be unaccompanied. You may provide your own pianist for the final round if you are able, or you may play unaccompanied. It is greatly encouraged that music be memorized.

The preliminary round of the competition will via video submission. You will be notified of the results by email. Those selected to compete in the final round will play at 4:30 p.m. in Holsclaw Hall the day of the Cello Congress. There will be a $10 entry fee collected upon registration for the Cello Congress. Any questions regarding repertoire or other contest details should be directed to [email protected].

For those traveling from out of town, the closest hotels are:
Tucson Marriott University Park
Graduate Tucson