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Juan Sebastian Delgado
Solo cello
Argentinian cellist Juan Sebastián Delgado completed Doctoral studies in performance at McGill University studying with Matt Haimovitz and focusing on contemporary music and Nuevo Tango. The CBC Radio Ideas chose his artistic research to be featured throughout Canada and he was the featured cellist in the episode Virtuoso Brain by the TV program Decouverte.
Founding member of the Montreal-based duo Stick&Bow (cello&marimba), together with percussionist Krystina Marcoux, they have been awarded two prizes at the OPUS PRIX 2024; “Artists of the Year” and “International Achievement.” Their eclectic repertoire features their own original arrangements and commissioned works. To date, they have performed in some of the top music festivals across Canada including the Bach Festival Montréal, Festival de Lanaudière, Festival Classica, National Arts Centre for their #Canadaperforms, Salle Bourgie, La Viree Classique, and Festival du bout du monde, among others. Featured in CBC Music’s The Intro as “boldly going where no cello and marimba have gone before”, Stick&Bow has also collaborated with star singer Pierre Lapointe, arranging his song, Pour déjouer l’ennui, have finished a 40-dates concert tour in France, as emerging artist with Jeunesses Musicales France 2022/23 as well as tours in Colombia (2023) and Argentina (2022). Analekta/Outhere recording artists, they have recorded 3 albums in 3 years; Resonance music for marimba and cello (2019), Bach’s trio sonatas together with renowned baroque expert, Luc Beausejour (2021), and Veni, Vola, Veni (2022) featuring music by Piazzolla and Beytelmann together with piano legend Gustavo Beytelmann (ex-pianist of Astor Piazzolla). This album was featured in the National Radio of Argentina, where the iconic journalist Victor Hugo Morales, described their interpretation of Vardarito as one of the best interpretations of Piazzolla’s music.
First-prize winner at the Latin-American Cello Festival, Juan Sebastián is active in the creation and dissemination of new works that explore the cello in innovative ways, having conducted a variety of projects in 28 different countries, including three cello concertos written for him; Pájaro contra el borde de la noche for solo cello, ensemble and electronics by Luis Naon (Paris Conservatory), commissioned by Radio France, Cinco Tangos Apócrifos for cello and string ensemble by Jorge Bosso (2016) and The Night of a Capricious Dawn (2022) for cello and orchestra by Jason Noble. Invited to participate at the Creative Dialogues 2017, he worked with world-renowned composer Kaija Saariaho and premiered works for strings and electronics in Helinski, Finland. At the Lyon Biennale 2018, he premiered Daniel’s Tango for cello and marimba by composer Marcelo Nisinman. In September of 2019, Juan Sebastian was invited by the Albanian Government to perform with pianist Redi Llupa at the Academy of Science and Arts in Tirana premiering new works for cello and piano by Albanian composers (Simaku, Tole). Delgado has released less-known solo cello works including Puneña N2, a tour de force by Alberto Ginastera which was reviewed by former Ginastera’ student and acclaimed composer Alcides Lanza as a "brilliant interpretation,” and Synchronism No.3 for solo cello and electronics by Pulitzer-prize winner Mario Davidovsky recorded by CIRMMT for its 20th anniversary.
His interest in research and education brought him to create a graduate seminar on the history of the tango at McGill University, to conduct research on improvisation at the Université de Montréal-OCIRM (FRQSC fellowship), and he was recently appointed as Faculty Fellow for the Arts at UMBC (Baltimore) where he is devoted to music research, performance, and education.
Juan Sebastian studied with full scholarships at the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy with legendary Trio di Trieste and renowned cellist Enrico Bronzi, at The Boston Conservatory in US with Rhonda Rider (Virtu Foundation Scholar), and at McGill University in Montreal (masters).
He plays a wonderful unknown cello from the beginning of the 19th century and a bow from the Fondation M.H Piot.