Stephen Drake, Cellist

Stephen Drake has been a member of the Nashville Symphony since 1984. Before that, he was a member of the Richmond Symphony. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he grew up in several places - Arborvale, West Virginia; La Canada, California; Arecibo, Puerto Rico; but mostly in Ithaca, New York. Starting out on piano, he also studied guitar, before finding the cello. He was principal cello in both Junior high and Senior high school in Ithaca. He recieved a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1979, and pursued graduate studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. He spent two summers at the Aspen Music Festival, on scholarships.

He won first place in the Virginia Music Teachers Association competition in 1981.

He has taught at the Richmond Community Music School, Virginia Commonwealth University, Summer Strings on the Meharrin in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, as well as private students over the years.

He has been on the road many times - as a member of the Mantovani Orchestra, and several years with the Amy Grant Christmas Tour.

He has done numerous recordings in the studios of Nashville - both as a soloist and as a section member. Vince Gill, Michael W. Smith, and Amy Grant are artists he's recorded with, along with many others.

In addition to the cello, he studied composition and music theory. His mother is a composer, which gave a prod in that direction. In addition to several original works, he has produced many arrangements of popular music for string quartets.

Stephen has also been an active chamber musician throughout the years - he has been a member of many string quartets, from groups back in high school, to professional groups. Currently, he is part of a quartet that performs educational concerts in local schools many times a year. He also plays at many weddings and parties.

Besides the Nashville Symphony, Stephen is active is several other groups - he is principal cellist of the Murfreesboro Philharmonic and sometimes the assistant principal of the Bryan Symphony. He can also be seen subbing in many of the great orchestras of the south, as scheduling permits.

Besides the cello, Stephen also pursued playing rock guitar for a while, and despite giving it up professionally, he still plays as a hobby occassionally.

Stephen performs on a cello made by Nicholas Frirsz in 1997. His bows are by Michael Duff (1998) and William Salchow (1985).

Here's my resume!

What I play on:

I've recently acquired a cello made by Nicholas Frirsz, built in the fall of 1997. It's a copy of a cello made by Montagnana in 1733.

Before that, I used a cello I acquired in 1974 supposedly made by Joseph Antonio Rocca, in Turin, Italy, dated 1833. I sold this cello in 2006.

I also have a montagnana style cello made by Xue-Chang Sun, in Beijing. It's a fairly inexpensive instrument, but sounds great, plays easily, and I use it for outdoor and road work.

I use a bow made by William Salchow of New York city. It is one of his "flying tip" models. I also use a bow made by Michael F. Duff, of Berg Bows, from Bloomington, Indiana. You can find out more about these at Http://www.Bergbows.com I use a Coda conservatory colours bow for outdoor work. I also have a cheap Gotz bow, which I almost never use.

Here's some pictures of these instruments!

Have you ever wondered what cellists are asked to play on auditions for symphony orchestra jobs? Here's my collection of audition lists.