Ezra Escobar at the Museum

Reena Esmail Varsha 5’ 

Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 18’ 

Caroline Shaw in manus tuas 9’ 

Bright Sheng Seven Tunes Heard in China 19’ 

Lauded as “vibrant” and “gifted” (Chicago Classical Review), Filipino-American cellist Ezra Escobar made his solo debut at age 16 with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago and has since made appearances at Symphony Center in Chicago, Roundhouse, Alice Tully Hall, Pritzker Pavilion, the Ravinia Festival, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, Young Steinway Concert Series, & Chicago Rush Hour Concerts series, and on Chicago’s WFMT radio station, with collaborators ranging from kora virtuoso Ballaké Sissoko to jazz clarinetist Ken Peplowski. 

Ezra serves as the cellist of the Jasmine Quartet, a London-based string quartet dedicated to expanding the reach of classical music beyond traditional demographics through repertoire that reaches across genres and cultural boundaries. The quartet, who have been mentored by the Marmen Quartet, Natalia Lomeiko, Emily Sun, & Cecily Ward at the RCM and supported by the Hinrichsen Foundation, makes debuts at Folklore Hoxton, St. Mary Abbots Church, Concerts for Charity London, and the Albion Up Close concert series in the 25-26 season. As a composer, his works have been performed throughout the USA, the UK, and Australia, notably in his hometown of Chicago at Symphony Center and the Ravinia Festival. 

As a resident artist of the Fil-Am Music Foundation, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to promoting exceptional Filipino classical musicians through scholarship assistance and performance opportunities, Ezra has presented the U.S premieres of works by Filipino composers such as A.J Villanueva, Gabriel Mendoza, and National Artists of the Philippines for Music Antonino Buenaventura, Lucrecia Kasilag & Lucio San Pedro.

Ezra studied at the Music Institute of Chicago, the Mannes School of Music, and the Royal College of Music. While at the RCM, he won top prizes in both cello and composition. His primary teachers have been Alexander Chaushian, Tanya Carey, Marcy Rosen, and Hélène Dautry. Additional studies include masterclasses with Johannes Moser, Alisa Weilerstein, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Timothy Eddy, Marc Coppey, Colin Carr, & Eric-Maria Couturier.