David Pereira

Cello

Since late 1990 David Pereira has been Senior Lecturer in Cello at the Canberra School of Music. He continues to be in demand as a performer, with recent appearances including solo recitals and concerto performances throughout Australia. During the last twenty years David has established himself as an outstandingly versatile cellist while holding the most coveted positions in the country. He was for eleven years cellist of the Australia Ensemble, for seven years Principal Cellist of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and for three years Principal Cello with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Other associates in performance have included Flederman, the Seymour Group, The String Soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic, Felix Ayo, The Chilingirian Quartet, Roger Woodward, and the Sydney String Quartet. In September 2001 he performed at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival’s special celebration of Australian music in Wales.

David Pereira graduated with the Performer’s and Teacher’s Diplomas from the Sydney Conservatorium as “Student of the Year” after several years’ tuition with John Painter There followed four years at Indiana University with Fritz Magg, and the completion of a Masters Degree in Cello Performance.

As concerto soloist David has appeared with the major orchestras in Australia and New Zealand in concertos including those by Dvorak, Elgar, Schumann, Saint-Saëns, Beethoven (Triple), Brahms (Double), JC Bach, CPE Bach, Bruch (Kol Nidrei) as well as concertos written for him by Australians Richard Mills, Barry Conyngham, David Lumsdaine, Larry Sitsky and Bruce Cale.

High praise has been awarded to his recordings. The Wild Russians, with Lisa Moore, piano, on Tall Poppies (TP018), received the inaugural ABC Award for the Best Australian Recording in1993). His first CD of solo Australian cello music was released in July 1996 (Cello Dreaming, TP075). In October 1996 his recording of Carl Vine’s Inner World for cello and sampled cello was released as the first Australian art music CD single (TP101). In 2001 two further CDs of Australian cello music were released by Tall Poppies: the complete works for cello by Peter Sculthorpe (TP136) and a collection of solo works Uluru (TP096). His recording with Ian Munro of the complete works for cello by the Finnish composer Rautavaara (TP156) was released in 2002. In early 2000 Tall Poppies released his recording of the complete Bach solo suites (TP144), and in 2002 his recording of the complete cello works of Peter Sculthorpe (TP136) with Ian Munro. His most recent CD release, in 2005, was “Electric Cello” (TP180) containing Australian works for cello with tape or delay. (See Tall Poppies for more information.)

In late 1997 Pereira was awarded the Sounds Australian Award for the Best Performance of an Australian Composition in the ACT (Carl Vine’s Inner World). In 1998 he was awarded the Sounds Australian National Award for the Best Performance of an Australian Composition for his recording of the Lumsdaine Garden of Earthly Delights (TP113). This recording also won him his second ABC Award for the Best Australian Recording (1998).

2001 saw publication of his first book – “Violoncello! One With Your Sound” - a 200,000-word exploration of cello technique and artistry that aspires to real importance as a practising cellist’s companion (it can be found at violoncello.biz on the web).

Further information about David Pereira