Cellist Julie Albers was praised by the New York Times as being “a fantastically eloquent player, with an elegant sound that is full of emotion but without exaggeration or overstatement. Albers’ rich vibrato and expressive bowing made the music sing, and in the quick sections, her agile fingers moved through the notes with effortless grace.”
Albers came from a talented musical family and seemed destined to live her life as a musician. She started playing violin at age 18 months and piano at age 2.
“My mother is a Suzuki method violin teacher which believes if a child can learn to speak by listening and repeating, they can learn an instrument in the same way,” Albers said. “I was given a violin because I would harass my older sister so much while she practiced that my mom gave me an instrument just to take my attention off of her.”
After switching to the cello at age 4, Julie, without, of course, knowing it at the time, had found her instrument. She explained, “I didn’t know if music was what I wanted to pursue as a career until after I started in the Young Artist program in Cleveland during my junior year of high school and was suddenly surrounded by young musicians who were passionate about what they were doing. It was an incredibly inspiring environment . . .”
During her junior year of high school, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to join the Young Artist program at the Cleveland Institute of Music. “This program was designed to give serious high school students an early start on music conservatory life and consisted of 1/2 academic high school courses and 1/2 music conservatory classes,” she said.
Albers stayed at the Cleveland Institute where she finished her high school and undergraduate degrees. She was awarded the Grand Prize at the XIII International Competition for Young Musicians in Douai, France, and as a result toured France as soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Douai.
Making her major orchestral debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at the age of 18 was a landmark performance for her. “Perhaps the concert that stands out the most was my debut with the Cleveland Orchestra . . . It was quite a thrill to be on stage performing Dvorak with one of the world’s greatest orchestra,” she said. “My parents were able to fly in for the performance and it was one the last times my father saw me play as he passed away the following year.”
Albers has gone on to perform in recital and with orchestras throughout North America, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand. She is currently principal cello of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and on the faculty of the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts.
Teaching has also been an important part of her life from the age of 12 when she started teaching her first students. She held the position of Assistant Professor at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia from 2009-2022.
Albers is currently principal cello of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and on the faculty of the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston, Massachusetts. On the NEC website, Albers said, “I am honored to be joining the faculty of the New England Conservatory. There is such a rich history of cello playing and pedagogy at NEC, and it is an incredible thrill to become a part of this legacy.”
A Life of Family and Music
In addition to her busy life of performing, Julie is married with a five-year-old daughter and a hound/beagle/retriever mix puppy. “I love traveling, cooking, running or bootcamp/Metcon workouts. I’m trying to embrace winter more now that I live in Minnesota, but I’m in my happy place in the tropics on the beach.” she said.
Julie loves to perform with her two sisters in their Albers Trio. Her sister, violinist Laura Albers, studied at the Cleveland Institute and The Juilliard School, and is the Associate Concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera. Sister Rebecca Albers also studied at Juilliard and is the Principal Viola of the Minnesota Orchestra.
Performing with the DSSO
Albers will be playing with DSSO as a soloist in their upcoming Brahms 3, Masterworks 4 concert where she will be playing two pieces, Korngold’s “Theme and Variations” and Mariel for cello and orchestra by Argentinian/American composer Osvaldo Golijov.
“I’m looking forward to working with the DSSO. This will be my first time with them. My goal is always to be present in the moment and to play chamber music with the group, so that we’re all actively involved in the music making.”
She added, “Neither of the two pieces I will be playing are very well known and are challenging in different ways. Mariel is all about creating an atmosphere and is a bit minimalistic. The challenge is creating as many colors as the piece demands. The Korngold also is crafted on short musical motives, so there isn’t as much thematic development as you would find in many other concertos.”
“Performing music is the fun part! You put in so much work preparing for each and every performance that the payoff is the joy of getting to connect with others through the music,” she said. “It’s hard to put into words what music does to enrich my life but I definitely know it’s good for the soul!
Information on DSSO’s Masterworks 4 Brahms and Korngold
February 1 at 7 PM
DECC Symphony Hall
Tickets at dsso.com
Program
Korngold Theme and Variations
Golijov Mariel
Korngold Cello Concerto
Brahms Symphony No.3
