ORGANIZATIONAL

HISTORY

Since our founding the Texas Cellos Foundation has presented 120 concerts with 20,000+ attendees, five festivals ( Fredericksburg Music Festival and School & TexasCellos SESSIONS) five seasons of Texas Cello School Summer Institutes with 450+ elementary-postgrad cello students enrolled. ( >80% received scholarships ) 

The ability to understand the beauty of music and the opportunity to learn to master an instrument are truly some of the best gifts that you can give.

The Texas Cellos Foundation with its sub organizations are an extension of this philosophy. We believe that it is important to gather musicians of all ages and levels who share a common interest, where the young are inspired by the mature, and a world class faculty provides inspiration for students and audiences alike. Texas Cellos will continue to create an ecosystem for musicians to share their knowledge, and musical wisdom on and off the stage.

GROWTH PLAN

The Texas Cellos have joined the ranks of a beloved institution in Texan musical life. In 2020, a pandemic cello choir became the impetus for founding a cello ensemble. Its exceptional tonal and virtuosic qualities soon took concert audiences by storm, and now the Texas Cellos enjoy a remarkable following, selling out at every concert they have given.

Whether they’re playing classics from baroque to modern, jazz, tango, movie tunes, or avant-garde, listeners are invariably fascinated by the wide range of unique and intoxicating timbres that these cellos can produce, and their mixture of seriousness and humor, of depth and lightness, appeals to audiences of all ages.

Since 2020, with grass roots support Texas Cellos has consistently presented programs of the highest level international artists to sold out audiences, and recruited and talented students to Texas Cello School.

The cello choir itself is now touring around the country to performing to sold out audiences in notable venues. The Institute continues to grow in reputation around the world and to attract the highest level teachers and students.

Our popular MUSIC@MILL Festival, was rebranded to TexasCellos SESSIONS.

‘The most renowned musicians of our time in Texas’s coolest clubs, breweries, and venues where they are free to blend genres in a casual setting.’

In April 2024 Metamorphosis Dallas, a conductor-less chamber orchestra presented a GALA concert in Winspear Opera House with cellist Steven Isserlis as soloist to a crowd of over 1,000.

To attract more international talent and to put us on the map around the globe, Texas Cellos announced the Texas Cello Grand Prix, a prestigious ‘No Strings Attached' award given quad-annually by the TexasCellos Foundation. The award celebrates individuals who demonstrate extraordinary originality, insight, and potential for significant future advancements to the cello for the sake of humanity.

Under the umbrella of the TEXAS CELLOS FOUNDATION our various sub organizations has become a grass roots ecosystem that enriches the lives of Texans with an approach of learning by doing in music education and accessible, popular performances in cool venues.

PHILOSOPHY

‘Each person is an individual and deserves to be treated uniquely.’

Creative Director

Joseph Kuipers is an American cellist, educator, and arts leader whose work is defined by artistic excellence, innovation, and community engagement. Raised in a musical family, he began performing chamber music and singing in choirs at an early age—experiences that continue to shape his collaborative and interdisciplinary approach.

Kuipers pursued advanced studies in the United States and Europe, training in St. Paul with Hong Wang and Tom Rosenberg, in Boston with Paul Katz, in Mannheim with Bernard Greenhouse and Michael Flaksman, and in Basel with Thomas Demenga and Rainer Schmidt. Additional formative influences include Richard Aaron, Hans Jørgen Jensen and the late Anner Bylsma, fostering a performance practice grounded equally in historical awareness and contemporary expression.

Renowned for his versatility on modern and gut strings, Kuipers is known for imaginative programming that often juxtaposes Baroque repertoire with new and recent works. He has appeared at leading festivals and institutions worldwide, including the Aspen and Ravinia Music Festivals, Festival International du Domaine Forget, Kronberg Academy, Ascoli Piceno Festival, Carl Orff Festival, and the World Cello Congress. His dedication to the music of our time has led to close collaborations with composers such as Robert Cogan, Heinz Holliger, Helmut Lachenmann, and Arvo Pärt.

Chamber music is central to his artistic life, with collaborators including the Dover, Escher, and Miró Quartets and members of the Cleveland and Hagen and St. Lawrence Quartets.

Teaching plays a vital role in Kuipers’s career. He has held faculty positions at Washington and Lee University, Eastern University, and the Binningen School for Gifted Students in Switzerland, and gives masterclasses internationally. His students regularly earn top honors at regional and national competitions.

Kuipers is the Creative Director of Texas Cellos, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching communities through performance and education. Under his leadership, programming has expanded to include Texas Cello School, TexasCellos SESSIONS, Fredericksburg Music Festival and School, and Metamorphosis Dallas (chamber orchestra.)

He performs on cellos by Francesco Gobetti (Venice, ca. 1710) and Mason Weedman (2024) and is based in Dallas.