Benett Tsai
Cellist
The music-making of young Australian cellist Benett Tsai has been described as “electrifying…flawless freshness” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) and “charismatic, heartfelt playing full of fluid intensity” (Sydney Arts Guide). A winner of numerous awards, he has been profiled as one of the thirty “next generation young musicians making their mark” by Limelight Magazine. He was first noticed internationally at the 2022 Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann, where he received both the Third Prize and Special Prize for the Best Haydn Concerto as the youngest participant. Most recently, he joined the roster of Young Concert Artists upon winning the prestigious 2023 Susan Wadsworth International Auditions in New York.
Since his mainstage debut at the 2017 Musica Viva Huntington Music Festival, Benett has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Kammerphilharmonie Metamorphosen Berlin, Sinfonia Lahti, Canberra Symphony Orchestra, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy. He has also appeared in recital at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Berliner Philharmonie, Helsinki Music Centre, City Recital Hall in Sydney, and Melbourne Recital Centre among other venues worldwide. In 2020, he was featured in the documentary film, The Way Forward, where he collaborated with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.
Recent performance highlights include Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Colburn Orchestra and maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen at The Soraya in Los Angeles; a nationwide tour of Australia as a part of Kathryn Selby & Friends, and both solo and chamber music appearances at the Verbier Festival Academy in the summer.
Born in 2003, Benett commenced cello studies at the age of five with his uncle, Thomas Tsai. He is currently an undergraduate student of Clive Greensmith at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Previously, he also studied with Susan Blake and Li-Wei Qin. His other significant influences include Ralph Kirshbaum, Steven Isserlis, Alban Gerhardt, and his pianist father, Joshua Tsai.
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YCA represents cellist Benett Tsai for worldwide engagements. Please contact us for more information.