Hiro Matsuo, Cello

Biography

A native of Chicago, cellist Hiro Matsuo began his musical studies at ten and had already been featured on a PBS television program performing Saint-Saëns’ “The Swan” within a year into his studies.

A bronze medalist in the 2006 Stulberg International Competition, Matsuo has earned wide recognition winning numerous competitions and awards from an early age including first place awards in National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, all divisions of Society of American Musicians Competition, Musichorale Competition, MTNA Illinois and Midwest Regional Competition, University of Illinois Cello Festival Competition and the Mary Alice Cox award from National Federation of Music Clubs. As winner of the Kishwaukee Young Artists Concerto Competition, Matsuo made his concerto debut with the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 2002 performing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. 

An avid chamber musician, he has collaborated with such distinguished artists as Paul Biss, Roberto Diaz, Ida Kavafian, Alexander Kerr, Anne-Marie McDermott and Joseph Silverstein. His involvement with chamber music began at 12 when he was the principal cellist of the cello trio Tre Cellisti, which, among other honors, was featured on an A&E television documentary, “The Competition.” In 2002, Tre Cellisti performed with Yo-Yo Ma on the nationally syndicated radio program "From the Top". Matsuo has since continued extensive chamber music studies receiving guidance from Pamela Frank, Miriam Fried, Gary Graffman, Ida Kavafian, Meng-Chieh Liu, Seymour Lipkin and Steven Tenenbom among others. 

In the past summer seasons, Matsuo has performed solo and chamber music recitals throughout North America, Europe and Japan. In 2009, he was invited to tour the United States as a member of the “Curtis on Tour” chamber ensemble, which also included Joseph Silverstein, former concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Roberto Diaz, former principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and current president of the Curtis Institute of Music, performing works by Boccherini, Brahms and Dohnanyi. In 2006 and 2007, he was a fellow at Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute and, in 2008, at the Kirishima International Music Festival in Japan. This summer, Matsuo has accepted an invitation to participate at Music@Menlo chamber music festival.

As an orchestral musician, Matsuo has worked with Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Alan Gilbert, Nicolas McGegan, Simon Rattle and Michael Tilson Thomas as a member of the renowned Curtis Symphony Orchestra. 

Having earned his Bachelor’s Degree from the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of Carter Brey, David Soyer and Peter Wiley, Matsuo is currently studying with Timothy Eddy at The Juilliard School, where he is a recipient of the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship, M. & E. Cohen Scholarship and J. & B. Werter Scholarship.