# Colin Stokes

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**Colin Stokes** (born October 7, 1987) is an American-born cellist, pursuing an active performing career in the United States and Europe.

## Biography

Colin Stokes was born in [Gettysburg, Pennsylvania](/source/Gettysburg,_Pennsylvania), to parents Lisa Portmess and Harry Stokes. His mother is a professor of philosophy at [Gettysburg College](/source/Gettysburg_College)[1] and his father is the president of Gaia, Inc.[2]

At age 6 Colin began studying piano and one year later started lessons on the [cello](/source/Cello). He studied locally until age 11 when he started commuting to [Baltimore](/source/Baltimore), [Maryland](/source/Maryland), to study with Troy Stuart, with whom he stayed until his graduation from [Baltimore School for the Arts](/source/Baltimore_School_for_the_Arts) in 2006.[3][4] While in high school, Colin was chosen to play with [Yo-Yo Ma](/source/Yo-Yo_Ma) in [Heitor Villa-Lobos](/source/Heitor_Villa-Lobos)' Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5 at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Maryland, and the [Strathmore Performing Arts Center](/source/Strathmore_(Maryland)) outside of [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington,_D.C.)[4][5] About the concert, Andante wrote "Just as beautifully executed, but more moving emotionally, was the surging intensity of Villa-Lobos's *Bachianas Brasileiras* No. 5. Janice Chandler-Eteme...supported by Temirkanov leading an ensemble of splendid cellists that included Ma...[and] Colin Stokes."[6] Upon graduation from Baltimore School for the Arts, Colin was given the Joan G. and Joseph Klein, Jr. Prize for the Most Promising Performing Artist.

Colin has spent summers at Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival and the Heifetz Institute. He has been invited to perform on series such as Baltimore's 2nd Presbyterian Chamber Series, Norfolk's Master Artist Series and Heifetz’ Celebrity Artist Series.[7] He has collaborated with some of the great artists of today including [Ani Kavafian](/source/Ani_Kavafian),[8] [Yo-Yo Ma](/source/Yo-Yo_Ma),[4][6] James Taylor[8] and [Yuri Temirkanov](/source/Yuri_Temirkanov).[4][6] Colin Stokes has premiered works by composers Joungbum Lee, Jen Bellor, Robert Pierzak, Matt Barber and Michael Myounghoon Lee. He has also worked closely with composers Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, [Mohammed Fairouz](/source/Mohammed_Fairouz) and [John Williams](/source/John_Williams) on their own music. Stokes is also member of the electro-classical project [SYMPHONIACS](/source/SYMPHONIACS).[9]

Colin studied with [Steven Doane](/source/Steven_Doane) and Rosemary Elliott at the [Eastman School of Music](/source/Eastman_School_of_Music)[10] in [Rochester, NY](/source/Rochester,_NY). He plays on a cello made by Carl Becker in 1933.[9]

## References

1. [Gettysburg College](http://www.gettysburg.edu).

1. [Project Gaia](http://www.projectgaia.com), Official website.

1. [Baltimore School for the Arts](http://www.bsfa.org/alumni.html), Alumni Directory.

1. [Baltimore Sun](https://web.archive.org/web/20110723075027/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-02-05/features/0502050064_1_yo-yo-ma-colin-stokes-cello), *At 9, Colin Stokes idolized Yo-Yo Ma. At 17, he's sharing a stage with his favorite cellist*.

1. [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59177-2005Feb2.html), "Play With Yo-Yo Ma? Cello!"

1. [Andante Magazine](http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=25142) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070621103404/http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=25142) 2007-06-21 at the Wayback Machine, *Washington Gets a Glorious New Concert Hall - For an Out-of-Town Orchestra*.

1. [Heifetz Celebrity Artist Series](http://www.heifetzinstitute.org/celebrity.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110104072358/http://www.heifetzinstitute.org/celebrity.htm) 2011-01-04 at the Wayback Machine, Program from July 2.

1. ["Yale University, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival Alumni Profiles"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100330165317/http://music.yale.edu/norfolk/alumni/alumniprofiles.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.music.yale.edu/norfolk/alumni/alumniprofiles.htm) on 2010-03-30.

1. Symphoniacs. ["Symphoniacs | Virtuosos | Colin Stokes"](https://www.symphoniacs.com/artists/colin-stokes---2-.html). *Symphoniacs*. Retrieved 2022-08-19.

1. [Eastman School of Music](http://www.esm.rochester.edu/news/?id=580), Concert Publicity.

## External links

- [http://www.colin-stokes.com%5B%5D](https://colinstokes.com)
- [https://www.twitter.com/colinstokes](https://www.twitter.com/colinstokes)
- [http://esm.rochester.edu](http://esm.rochester.edu)
- [http://www.linkedin.com/pub/colin-stokes/16/945/884](http://www.linkedin.com/pub/colin-stokes/16/945/884)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Colin Stokes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Stokes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Stokes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.