Cello Festival of Southern Utah

09/15/2026

The Cello Festival of Southern Utah 2026 came to a wonderful conclusion last Saturday. Thank you to all who participated! We are especially grateful to the support of our sponsors, volunteers as well as teachers and parents who made this event possible! Special thanks to our guest artists/clinicians for their shared artistry and inspiring teaching ideas that have left a great impact on cellists and community members involved. Here are some photo highlights. Visit the Utah Tech YouTube channel to revisit some of the livestream performances, ASTA Cello Lecture, and masterclass videos. Look forward to Cello Festival 2027~
Photo credit to Dr. Penny Tong.

09/12/2026

Congratulations to winners of the Brimhall Cello Competition 2026! We want to thank all students for participating. It was a very high performance level from every student. Special thanks to our final-round judges Dr. Helga Winold and Dr. Sonja Kraus.

Junior Category:
First Prize: Hannah Harrison (student of Matt Johnson)
Second Prize: Christopher Wilkerson Wong (student of Matt Johnson)
Third Prize: Audrey Smith (student of Dr. Lauren Posey)
Honorable Mention: Elian Coley (student of Dr. Daniel Levitov), Scott Pickett (student of Dr. Lauren Posey) & Lily Swigert (student of Dr. Peter Romney)

Senior Category:
First Prize: Mary Erickson (student of Nicole Pinnell)
Second Prize: Ella Johnson (student of Matt Johnson)
Third Prize: Miles Higginson (student of Dr. Lauren Posey)
Honorable Mention: Aliya Gardner, Seth Peterson (student of Elizabeth Marsh) & Taizen ThomasWong (student of Dr. Lauren Posey)

Collegiate Category:
First Prize: Yasenah Clayton (student of Mr. Hans Jensen and Mr. Brannon Cho)
Second Prize: Max Torres (student of Daniel Gaisford and Dr. Ka-Wai Yu)
Third Prize: Sequoya Lee (student of Dr. Michelle Kesler)
Honorable Mention: Raif Milligan (student of Dr. Michael Kaufman)

09/10/2026

See you all in the Cello Festival tomorrow and Saturday in Utah Tech~

09/05/2026

Congratulations to all participants. The 2026 finalists have been selected. See you on September 11, 2026 in Utah Tech's Eccles Concert Hall for the final round starting at 1:15pm. Feel free to join us via livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmLtNEPFPeg
Below are our finalists. Special thanks to Dr. Benjamin Whitcomb and Dr. Sophie Webber our preliminary-round adjudicators!

Junior Category:
Elian Coley
Luke Crossley
Henry France
Bright Hale
Hannah Harrison
Grant Morgan
Scott Pickett
Audrey Smith
Lily Swigert
Christopher Wilkerson Wong

Senior Category:
Naomi Bosch
Kenton Brady
Elizabeth Erickson
Mary Erickson
Aliya Gardner
Miles Higginson
Ella Johnson
Noah Larson
Seth Peterson
Taizen ThomasWong

Collegiate Category:
Laura Bullock
Yansenah Clayton
Molly George
Sequoya Lee
Raif Milligan
Max Torres
Ellie Wirthlin

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

05/26/2026

Hello friends,
It has been a wonderful journey to host the cello festival at Utah Tech University year after year. While we are excited about the continued success and future of the festival, here is a short documentary film of the festival produced by Kordan Media, as we revisit some beautiful moments in the past decade. Enjoy!

A documentary film of the Cello Festival of Southern Utah, celebrat...

09/25/2025

The Cello Festival of Southern Utah 2025 concluded successfully last Saturday! Special thanks to everyone who helped make it possible, from parents, teachers, volunteers to our generous sponsors~ We are especially excited to celebrate a decade of community effort as we continue to be place of inspiration, excitement and collaboration through beautiful cello music. Congratulations to all talented cellists who participated in the Brimhall Cello Competition, and those who started their journey in the Junior Festival. The special world première, various artist recitals and workshops, ASTA Cello Lecture Series, as well as small and large cello ensemble performances...etc. all brought unforgettable memories to both cellists and the general public who attended the festival events. Thank you everyone! Here are some photo highlights thanks to Kordan Media. Enjoy!

09/20/2025

Some highlights Cello Festival Day 1! See you all in the events of the final day. Thanks for all your support.

09/20/2025

Congratulations to the prize-winners of the Brimhall Cello Competition 2025! We appreciate participants from both rounds for taking part in this competition, thank you for all your gtrwtvwork. We would also share our appreciation to the adjudicators.

Jr Division:
1st Place: Mary Erickson
2nd Place: Elian Coley
3rd Place: Audrey Smith
HM: Grant Morgan
HM: Christopher Wilkinson Wong

Sr. Division:
1st Place: Blake Purser
2nd Place: Dalloway Smith
3rd Place Tie: Ella Johnson, Yejoon Jung

Collegiate Division:
1st Place: Stella Wadsworth
2nd Place: Hayoung Kim
3rd Place: Max Torres
HM: Matthew Bailey

09/19/2025

Friends,
Join us for the following Cello Festival of Southern Utah (TODAY and TOMORROW) events open to anyone (no ticket needed) either in person or watch the livestream!

Brimhall Cello Competition
September 19, 2025 (Friday), 2:00-6:00pm
Eccles Concert Hall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDEk1UEGAk0

Artist Recital 1:
September 19, 2025 (Friday), 7:00pm
Eccles Concert Hall
Daniel Gaisford, cello
Dr. Christian Bohnenstengel, piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM8Ir4JKyes&ab_channel=UtahTechUniversityMusicDepartment

Artist Recital 2:
September 19, 2025 (Friday), 7:30pm
Eccles Concert Hall
Hojung Kim, cello
Dr. Nariaki Sugiura, piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slMlNBxLDOI&ab_channel=UtahTechUniversityMusicDepartment )

Artist Recital 3:
September 19, 2025 (Friday), 7:30pm
Eccles Concert Hall
Duo Cantabile
Dr. Simona Barbu, cello
Dr. Nariaki Sugiura, piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V03oVqW6Jsw&ab_channel=UtahTechUniversityMusicDepartment

ASTA Cello Lecture Series "Exploring Expression":
Sept 20 (Saturday) at 11am in Eccles Concert Hall
Dr. Elliott and Carey Cheney will discuss ideas from great cellists and musicians about meaning in music and offer practical suggestions on how different aspects of cello technique can be used to make music more meaningful to the audience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa8NwvByTb8&ab_channel=UtahTechUniversityMusicDepartment

Matinee Chamber Concert:
Sept 20 (Saturday) at 2pm in Eccles Concert Hall
The chamber concert will showcase first-prize winners of the Brimhall Cello Competition 2025, chamber ensembles Amichevoli and Cellomania USA, as well as artist-faculty performances, concluding with Klengel's Hymnus for 12 Cellos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do_POwfL6_E&ab_channel=UtahTechUniversityMusicDepartment

Final Cello Ensemble Concert:
Sept 20 (Saturday) at 7:30pm in Eccles Concert Hall
All three Festival cello ensembles (beginners, intermediate & advanced) will perform a diverse program of music written or arranged for cellos in multiple parts. Featured performing artists include Dr. Robert Tueller, Dr. Ka-Wai Yu, and Eric Yip featuring a world première of Karry Li's Over the Harbour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUq5FujrWmQ&ab_channel=UtahTechUniversityMusicDepartment )

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

09/12/2025

The Junior Festival has always been an important part of the cello festival, having great artists working with beginners and young intermediate players! Meet Peter Romney and Erica Hardy. Take a listen!