Musicians

Violin
· Brian Lewis, Concertmaster
· Brinna Brinkerhoff
· Aloysia Friedmann
· Jonathan Godfrey
· Andrés González
· Rachel Jordan
· Rasa Kalesnykaite
· Kana Kimura
· Maxine Kuo
· Tammy Linn
· Deborah Tien Price
· Oleg Sulyga
· Amy Thiaville

Viola
· Matt Dane
· Suzanne LeFevre
· Tawnya Popoff
· Lorento Golofeev

Cello
· Richard Belcher
· Julia Cleworth
· Erika Johnson
· Shino Hayashi

Bass
· Sandor Ostlund
· Erik Gronfor

Harp
· Mollie Marcuson

Flute/Piccolo
· Christina Jennings
· Jennifer Keeney

Oboe
· Alecia Lawyer

Clarinet
· Nathan Williams
· Maiko Sasaki

Bassoon
· Kristin Wolfe Jensen
· Daniel Chrisman

Horn
· Danielle Kuhlmann
· Gavin Reed

Trumpet
· Jens Lindemann
· Dan Shipman
· George Chase

Trombone
· Brian Logan

Percussion
· Matthew McClung

Piano
· Kimi Kawashima
· Rodney Waters

Richard Belcher Instrument: Cello Originally from: Christchurch, New Zealand Now reside in: New York City, NY Age: 35 Birthday: September 8

How did you get started? I was 11 years old when I started playing the cello. I'd started piano when I was 6, and joined the Christchurch Cathedral Choir when I was 8.

How long have you performed with ROCO? I started in the '08-'09 season.

What do you do when you’re not playing with ROCO? Most of my time is taken up playing in the Enso String Quartet...lots of practicing and rehearsing and quite a bit of traveling too!

What are you listening to on your iPod? Gogol Bordello, Manu Chao, Bach keyboard music...but there's so much! Mostly it's on shuffle.

What did you do this summer? Spent time learning new repertoire for the coming season, and I've been to a few festivals with the Enso String Quartet - Madison GA, Austin TX for the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest organized by ROCO's Nathan Williams, Kalamazoo MI where we were joined by ROCO cellist Julia Cleworth, Napa Valley CA, and Interlochen MI.

Personal info: Living in NYC with my girlfriend, Cece.

Question you're asked most often: Did you have to buy a seat for that? Answer: Unfortunately, yes. Cello seats on planes are full fare too, but I've heard too many horror stories about damaged instruments and lost luggage for me to risk checking it.

Interests outside music: I love hiking and would love to do more, reading good books, food, wine...

Links: www.twitter.com/ricquardo, www.ensoquartet.com

Education: University of Canterbury (BM, MM), Yale University (MM), Northern Illinois University (Performer's Certificate), Rice University (MM)

Bio: New Zealand cellist Richard Belcher has performed as a chamber musician and in solo settings across the USA and internationally. His time is principally taken up as cellist of the Enso String Quartet, of which he is a founding member. The Enso Quartet tours regularly, and has performed in many of the major concert halls throughout the USA, including Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center of New York, and the Library of Congress. In addition to performing, the quartet has made highly successful recordings, including the Grammy-nominated CD of the Ginastera String Quartets for the Naxos label. Richard maintains a busy schedule outside of his quartet’s touring by performing on various series throughout North America. He is Principal Cellist of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, and has been a regular performer for Music in Context, often collaborating with series founder Sergiu Luca.

Richard enjoys teaching and has served as Adjunct Faculty at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, for three summers was on faculty at Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and currently is on the faculty at the Interlochen Adult Chamber Music Camp. Richard moved to the USA in 1998 to study with Aldo Parisot at Yale University, and it was there in 1999 that he founded the Enso Quartet. Other major teachers include Norman Fischer, Marc Johnson, Alexander Ivashkin, and Frances De Goldi. Richard plays an N.F Vuillaume cello made in 1856, and lives in New York City.