About Me
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Mike Block plays in many genres and groups, including his own band for which he sings and writes. Mike also performs regularly with fiddler Mark O'Connor as the cellist in his Appalachia Waltz Trio (classical/folk crossover), and with Yo-Yo Ma in his Silk Road Ensemble (East-meets-West Fusion). Mike is also a member of Darol Anger's Republic of Strings (Contemporary American Folk), Kristjan Jarvi's Absolute Ensemble (jazz/world/classical crossover), the Sirius String Quartet (modern improv/crossover), the Hanneke Cassel Band (celtic fiddle), YMusic (multi-genre new-music ensemble), The Knights (classical), Action Jackson (pop/jazz), Bassam Saba's New York Arabic Orchestra, and the Saraab Ensemble (Arab Classical/Contemporary). Mike also plays in a duo with Pipa Virtuoso Yang Wei (folk/classical/original music), as well as a duo called ManDike (original music), with jazz saxaphonist Dan Cords. Mike has also played regularly with the Flux Quartet, Argento New Music Ensemble, the BQE Project, and the Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York. A frequent performer in Germany, it was there that Mike played the World Premiere and also recorded Gregor Hubner's Cello Concerto No. 1, which showcases Mike's non-traditional pizzicato and improvisational abilities. Mike has also performed on NPR's St. Paul Sunday Morning, and on VH1, Regis and Kelly, Late Night with Conan O'Brian, and he performed with Yo-Yo Ma and Allison Krauss on the CBS Early Show. Mike has also had the honor to perform with Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall, Zakir Hussain, Marcel Khaliffe, Goran Bregovic, Kayhan Kalhor, Simone Dinnerstein, Dawn Upshaw, Jan Vogler, and has recorded with Lenny Kravitz and Joe Zawinul, among many others. As a composer, Mike has had his works performed as part of the Tribeca New Music Festival, the MATA Festival, and by ensembles such as the Silk Road Ensemble, Sirius String Quartet, the Absolute Ensemble, the Knights, and the Brandywine Chamber Orchestra, among others. A graduate of the Juilliard School and the Cleveland Institute of Music, Mike's former cello teachers include Richard Aaron, Joel Krosnick, Darrett Adkins, and Carter Enyeart. Mike also trained with Pamela Devenport to become a Suzuki teacher. Mike has been a featured Guest Teacher at the Universities of Stanford, Princeton, Sam Houston State, Illinois State, and Illinois Weslyan. In the summers, Mike regularly teaches and performs at many festivals, including Mark O'Connor's string camps in New York City and Los Angeles, the Kansas City Cello Clinic, the Swannanoa Gathering, and the Vero Beach Summer Strings Camp, at which Mike is also the Director. Mike also co-created Kreol, a software that turns your computer into a musical instrument that you play by typing. www.KreolMusic.com
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***QUOTES*** "Mike Block is my definition of the ideal musician for the 21st century. Not only is he a wonderful cellist, but he writes music, he improvises, and he's fearless. Mike is wide open to all kinds of influences, and he incorporates everything he learns into his sound, making it uniquely his own." - Yo-Yo Ma ******* "Mike Block's witty songs, entertaining cello accompaniment and delicious arco solos are absolutely engaging." - Mark O'Connor ******* "a virtuoso soloist and rhythm monster" - Darol Anger ******** "vital, rich-hued solo playing" - New York Times ********
"a true artist ... a sight to behold." - Salt Lake City Desert News ******** "This is a piece less about stylistic restlessness than about defiance. Who says a work has to dwell within a coherent musical universe?" -New York Times (about the first movement of my Cello Concerto) ****** "Mike Block defies classification" - TCPalm.com
