Jeffrey Noel Lastrapes is a cellist, chamber musician, recitalist, and teacher. He has appeared throughout the United States, Europe, and South America, with concerts and recitals at The Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, Steinway Hall in New York, and numerous others. He has been soloist with the Monroe Symphony Orchestra, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, the Midland-Odessa Symphony, the Lower Marion Symphony of Philadelphia, and the Festival Orchestra in Vina del Mar, Chile. Appearances at festivals include the Evian Festival in France, the Bellingham Festival, Sevenars Festival, Mozart on the Square in Philadelphia, The National Cello Congress in Phoenix, Mid-Atlantic Chamber Music Society, Interlochen Center for the Arts, and twice at the Gregor Piatigorsky Seminar at the University of Southern California.
After earning his Bachelor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied under the renowned pedagogue Orlando Cole, he was awarded the Robert Brereton full scholarship to the Juilliard School where he received his Master of Music degree with Harvey Shapiro. He has had master classes with such cellists as Rostropovich, Paul Tortelier, Joel Krosnik, Yo Yo Ma, and Lynn Harrell. In 1991, Mr. Lastrapes represented the United States in the International Competition for Violoncello in Chile and won two of the four major prizes. Other honors and awards include the Lighthouse Award for Outstanding Achievement, which included a recital in New York, and first prize at the Birmingham American Society of Arts and Letters Competition.
Positions held include principal cello with the Curtis, Juilliard and Temple University orchestras, the Haddonfield Symphony, New Jersey, and the Midland-Odessa Symphony in Texas. He was also the cellist of the Lindsayan String Quartet for three seasons. Mr. Lastrapes has performed frequently on radio and television including broadcasts over Radio France, Northwave Radio of Japan, National Public Radio, National Television and Radio of Chile, and three live recitals on WFLN of Philadelphia. He has recorded for New World Records and West Virginia University Press. He has served on the Cello and Chamber music faculty of the Interlochen Center for the Arts for ten seasons. Mr. Lastrapes is also Assistant Professor of Cello at Oklahoma State University and the cellist and founding member of Quartet-a-tete Piano Quartet.
Mr. Lastrapes performs on a Ruggieri cello dated 1684.
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