Bio: Cellist Cicely Parnas,14, began her musical studies at age four and was soon setting award records including a 1st prize win at age nine which earned her a performance with the Walden Chamber Players of Boston. It was at this same age she made her debut as guest soloist with orchestra and was recognized for a prodigious technique and an astonishing depth of tone. Now after numerous concerti performances, Cicely has emerged as a seasoned performer and young artist. This year Miss Parnas will perform eight times with orchestra and close the season playing the Brahms Double with her sister, violinist Madalyn Parnas, recalling the historic and unparalleled performance of this piece by grandfather Leslie Parnas with Yehudi Menuhin and conducted by Casals. An avid chamber musician, Cicely joins Madalyn in the Parnas Duo performing at the highest caliber and consistently generating enthusiasm in audiences at venues including Troy Music Hall, Tanglewood, Grand Montgomery Chamber Music Series, Stockbridge Chamber Concerts, Bard, Union and Williams Colleges, UAlbany's Performing Arts Center, The Hyde Collection, Hudson Opera House, Spencertown Academy, and many others. They have been featured in numerous national and regional magazines, as well as on national and local radio broadcasts. This year the Parnas sisters celebrate ten years of music making together in the release of their debut CD, "PARNAS DOUBLE: Duos for Violin and Cello." Miss Parnas has taken top prize in numerous competitions; in 2006 alone Cicely won three first prizes including the Uel Wade Scholarship Competition, the Schenectady Symphony Concerto Competition, and the Berkshire Lyric Young Artist Competition. This same year she was also named a winner of the 2007 National ASTA Solo Competition in the Junior Division. Her exquisite tone and intuitive musicality are fueled by a generosity and fearlessness in performance, indeed reminding us of the lineal relationship with the great cellist Leslie Parnas. Cicely is a student of world-renowned cellist Peter Wiley and studies chamber music with Peter Serkin. William Forster crafted her beautiful cello in 1790 while living in London.
Visit the Parnas sister's site here
Here are some video excerpts of Cicely in performance:
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