About your cello coach

Mauricio Lopez-Chollett is an experienced cellist and educator whose career spans orchestral performance, chamber music, and teaching in both Latin America and the United States. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with academic honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music (1997) and a Master’s Degree in Cello Performance from the University of Michigan (1999). Early in his career he attended the Aspen Music Festival and School and performed with the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado. He also attended the Festival Internacional de Santander in Spain and a chamber music festival in Angoulême, France. From 1999 to 2023 he served as Cello Professor and conductor of the Mozart and Bach orchestras at the Emil Friedman School in Caracas, Venezuela. During this period he was also principal cellist of Virtuosi de Caracas and a member of the Humboldt String Quartet. He was also the cellist of the Academic Piano Trio “Emil Friedman,” performing extensively in chamber music recitals throughout Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, and England. Chamber music collaborations with renowned artists include Errolyn Wallen, Alexandre Tharaud, Quatuor Stanislas, and Ensamble Gurrufío, among others. Since relocating to Los Angeles, Lopez has continued an active career as both performer and teacher, working with several music programs while maintaining a private studio. His students have won concerto competitions with regional orchestras and prizes in solo string competitions. He remains active in chamber music while continuing to perform in orchestral and recording projects, including participation in the soundtrack for the documentary A Life in Portraits, about artist Don Bachardy, and a performance of Puccini’s Turandot at the Walt Disney Concert Hall