Cello Chat with Host Dr. Benjamin Whitcomb and guest Manou Chakravorty

Hailing from Chicago, Manou Magdalena Chakravorty grew up in a multicultural family that also embraced the cultures of Europe (Austria) and Asia (India) as she learned both cello and classical Indian dance. Reviews have described her playing as “an approach of great passion…and wonderful string singing,” (Südwest Presse in Germany) and “guided by a mature and dynamic sound” (See Dance Chicago).” Celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma exclaimed, “You have such a beautiful sound on the cello.” A winner of the Jerome and Elaine Nerenberg Foundation Scholarship of the Musicians Club of Women and several other competitions, Manou is pursuing her Master’s Degree in Cello Performance at the Juilliard School in Tianjin, studying with Sihao He. She previously studied with Hans Jorgen Jensen, Sydney Lee, and Sihao He, as well as renowned chamber coaches Annie Fullard and Lawrence Dutton at the McDuffie Center for Strings, from where she holds her Bachelor's Degree in Cello Performance. Prior to that, she studied with Richard Aaron, Julie Albers, Leo Singer, Richard Hirschl, Oleksa Mycyk, and Karen Schulz-Harmon and has been inspired by instruction from cellists Marc Coppey, Steven Doane, Clive Greensmith, Laurence Lesser, Ivan Monighetti, and Martti Rousi, among others. An avid chamber musician, she has attended several schools and festivals including Meadowmount, Rutesheim Cello Akademie, the Castleman Quartet Program, Center Stage Strings, the Heifetz International Institute, the International Music Workshop and Festival at Kirchberg an-der Jagst and the Encore String Quartet Intensive. Manou enjoys playing on a 1772 cello by Charles and Samuel Thompson with a bow made by Charles Claude Husson, c. 1910. Learn more: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manou-magdalena-chakravorty-4487b5312/