Instrument: cello
Cellist Ariel Barnes enjoys a diverse career as a soloist and both chamber and orchestral musician. With colleagues Mary Sokol-Brown and Andrew Brown, Ariel formed the Trio Accord, a Vancouver-based string trio, which the Victoria Times Colonist praised for its “enchanting,” “exhilarating,” and “extremely moving” performances.
Over the past several years, Ariel Barnes has appeared as a soloist, in recitals and in chamber music concerts across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. As a member of the Borealis String Quartet, he has been a guest at Festival Vancouver, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Mendocino Music Festival in California, and Music at Port Milford, in Ontario. Equally comfortable in genres of music ranging from the baroque to modern times, his engagements have included evenings of Mozart’s chamber music to contemporary solo cello recitals. He is currently Principal Cello of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, a member of the CBC Radio Orchestra, and a regular guest with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Turning Point Ensemble. Ariel has recorded for Centrediscs, CBC Radio (including Espace Musique), CBC Television, Integrity Music, Za Discs, Disney Films, and Funktopus Records. His principal teachers have included Daniel Domb at the University of Toronto, Bruce Uchimura at Western Michigan University, Craig Weaver of the Seattle Symphony, and Eric Wilson at the University of British Columbia. In addition, he has received coaching from Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Janos Starker, Lawrence Lesser, Lorand Fenyves, and members of the Guarneri, Cleveland, Orford, and St. Lawrence String Quartets.
Trio Accord’s debut recording on Skylark Records of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations is due out in the spring of 2008.