Nicole Pinnell

Nicole Pinnell first saw a cello at age 9. She trembled at the beauty of this mighty instrument. Growing up in Wisconsin, where there was not much to do except practice, Nicole played in Carnegie Hall at age 14, toured Europe and the US with Joshua Bell by age 19, and performed full-time with the Utah Symphony by her 20s. However, Nicole went off topic when she started playing pop and rock. For discovered she liked the sounds that classical cellists of the time were not supposed to like. Nicole went adventuring, drawn to world musics, learning music with a Peruvian shaman, African djelé, Syrian oud virtuoso and Hindustani guruji. This quirky background, combined with formidable cello training from Peter Howard and Eugene Friesen, with additional training from Yo-Yo Ma, makes Nicole's playing and compositions both evocative and unique. Nicole's solo album, Away in A Manger, A Cello Christmas, topped the Billboard Charts, and she is on three Grammy-nominated albums. Nicole also plays the Esraj, a 19 string Hindustani instrument.