John Popham, D.M.A.

About John

John Popham is a cellist and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. A versatile and dynamic performer, he has collaborated with a wide range of composers, musicians, and performing artists both within the United States and abroad. His “brilliant” and “virtuosic” (Kronen Zeitung) playing can be heard on numerous solo and chamber music releases on Tzadik, Carrier, New Focus Recordings, Albany, and Arte Nova record labels. Critics have noted his “velvet tone,” “remarkable technique” (Fanfare), and “warm but variegated,” and “highly polished” artistry (The New York Times). Popham is a founding member of Longleash, an “expert young trio” praised for its “subtle and meticulous musicianship” (Strad Magazine). He has appeared as a soloist with the Louisville Orchestra, the String Orchestra of Brooklyn, and the Kunstuniversität Graz Choir.

Recent festival appearances include Donaueschinger Musiktage (Germany), Monday Evening Concerts (Los Angeles), reMusik (St. Petersburg), Beijing Modern Music Festival (China), FUAIM Concerts (Ireland), Brücken (Austria), Internationales Musikfest Hamburg (Germany), Open Music (Austria), Wiener Festwochen (Austria), and the Contemporary Classical Music Festival (Peru).

In 2016, Popham joined the cello faculty of The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program, a program dedicated to nurturing the talents of students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in classical music. Since 2013, he has co-directed The Loretto Project, an annual composition seminar and new music festival held at the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Kentucky.

Popham holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a student of David Geber and David Soyer, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the City University of New York. He is a recipient of numerous awards and fellowships including a Fulbright Research Grant, a Music Academy of the West Alumni Enterprise Award, and a Chamber Music America Artistic Projects Grant.

As a teacher, my principal objective is to inspire each student to recognize and cultivate their unique and powerful artistic voice. By providing them with a versatile technique and tools of interpretation and expression, I prepare my students to forge their own musical path with conviction and confidence. In lessons, I balance a rigorous attention to cello mechanics with exercises in body awareness, breathing methods, musical interpretation, performance practice, improvisation, and practice strategies.