Adelle-Akiko Kearns

Adelle-Akiko Kearns                                                           Cello Faculty
adelle.kearns@sjsu.edu

Hailed by critics as an “impressive” cellist exhibiting “beautifully sensuous cello playing,” Adelle-Akiko Kearns is a highly in demand solo, chamber and orchestral performer based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The recipient of the prestigious Artists International Award, Adelle made her New York recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Hall in November of 2008. Since then she has appeared on the world’s most important stages including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Suntory Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, and many others.

In 2006 she gave the Japanese premiere of the Korngold Cello Concerto with the Tokyo Philharmonic, and was immediately engaged to return the following season to perform the Dvorak Concerto. Other previous solo appearances include concerto collaborations with the Santa Rosa Symphony, Symphony of the Redwoods, Cambrian Symphony, Auburn Symphony, Juilliard Conductors’ Orchestra, the West Valley Symphony (Arizona), the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra, the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra, and the Pacific Chamber Symphony.

As a chamber musician Ms. Kearns has performed at the world’s leading music festivals including the Saito Kinen, Aspen, Tanglewood, Yellow Barn and Spoleto Festivals. She has collaborated with members of the legendary Juilliard String Quartet as well as renowned chamber musicians Zuill Bailey, Jorja Fleezanis, Axel Strauss, Ian Swensen, Paul Hersh, Jodi Levitz, Daisuke Suzuki, and the Da Capo Chamber Players.

In 2003 she was the only cellist from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music chosen to play for the late Mstislav Rostropovich, and in addition she has undertaken masterclasses with some of the most revered cellists such as Bernard Greenhouse, Raphael Wallfisch, Paul Katz, David Finckel, Norman Fischer and Mark Kosower.

Adelle is currently the Principal Cellist of the Santa Rosa Symphony, Assistant Principal Cellist of Symphony Silicon Valley, the Monterey Symphony and the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra, and is also a regular substitute cellist with the San Francisco Symphony. Before returning to the Bay Area in 2011, Adelle served as the Assistant Principal Cello of the Louisiana Philharmonic and as a member of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. She has recorded with the San Francisco and Santa Rosa Symphonies for the Blackened and Delos labels.

Ms. Kearns holds degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School. Her principal teachers include Bonnie Hampton, Joel Krosnick, Sadao Harada, and Irene Sharp.

A native of San Francisco, Adelle currently resides in Sunnyvale, where she maintains an active teaching studio, and coaches the cello sections of the San Jose Youth Symphony and Golden State Youth Orchestra.