Cellist Astrid Schween is an internationally recognized soloist and chamber artist. She has received acclaim for her performances at festivals as wide-ranging as the Istanbul Festival, Musicades, Lockenhaus, Schleswig-Holstein, Reingau, Beleburg and Edinburgh festivals, Moscow’s Beethoven Festival, the Festival da Camera in St. Miguel de Allende, Würzburg’s Mozart Festival and Sweden’s prestigious Siljan Festival. During her 20 years with the Lark Quartet and as a guest with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, she performed in some of the world’s most important venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Concertgebouw, Musikverein, L’Opera de la Bastille, Herkules Saal, Wigmore Hall, the Library of Congress, the National Gallery and on tour throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Now a new member of the Boston Trio and a frequent guest artist with the Boston Chamber Music Society, the Memphis Chamber Music Society and the InterHarmony International Music Festival and the Aria International Academy, Ms. Schween was also recently invited to perform at Cello: An American Experience. While a member of the Lark Quartet, Astrid Schween and her colleagues won numerous international prizes including the gold medal at the Shostakovich Competition in St. Petersburg and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in New York. They also recorded an impressive discography which is featured on the Decca/Argo, Arabesque, Point, Agora, New World, CRI, Koch and Endeavor Classics labels. During her tenure, the Lark appeared on NPR’s Performance Today, Schickele Mix, and PBS; commissioned new works from many of America’s leading composers including Aaron Jay Kernis, Peter Schickele, Jennifer Higdon, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Julia Wolfe and Libby Larsen; and premiered many new works including Kenneth Frazelle’s music for Still/Here with celebrated choreographer Bill T. Jones. As a member of the quartet, Astrid was also mentored by legendary musicians from the Budapest, Amadeus, Borodin, Guarnieri, Juilliard and Alban Berg Quartets. Astrid Schween made her debut as soloist with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Zubin Mehta. She received her degrees at the Juilliard School, where she was twice awarded the Juilliard Cello Prize. Her teachers there included Harvey Shapiro, Leonard Rose, Channing Robbins and Ardyth Alton. She also studied with Bernard Greenhouse, Dr. H.T. Ma, Eugene Moye and in London with Jacqueline Du Pré. She participated in the Marlboro Music Festival and the William Pleeth Cello Master Classes at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh. Ms. Schween is currently Professor of Cello at the University of Massachusetts, where she succeeds cellist Matt Haimovitz. She holds a senior faculty position at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and recently joined the faculty of the Hartt School of Music and Mount Holyoke College. She has served as a juror for the Concert Artist Guild and Sphinx Competitions and panelist for Chamber Music America and the Arts Presenters conferences. She has been a guest speaker at the American String Teachers Association and guest performer at the Bernard Greenhouse Celebration in North Carolina. She is represented by Rile and Gallant Artists.