Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan is a cellist appearing as soloist with several US orchestras, including Redlands Symphony, Peninsula Symphony, and Symphony Tacoma. His upcoming programs pair him with wind ensembles and full orchestras alike, in repertoire spanning Gulda's jazz-inflected concerto to the Romantic staples of Elgar and Shostakovich.

Listeners can expect a range of cello writing across these engagements. Gulda's Concerto for Violoncello and Wind Orchestra mixes classical concerto form with jazz, pop, and even yodeling references, backed only by winds rather than a full string orchestra, so the cello's tone sits in a different, more exposed sonic space. The Elgar concerto, by contrast, is an intimate, autumnal work full of long, searching melodic lines that ask a soloist for a warm, unforced sound. Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto is tauter and more combative, built around a four-note motif that recurs obsessively and demands sharp rhythmic precision alongside its lyrical slow movement. Across these programs, a listener can expect to hear how one soloist adapts to sharply contrasting demands, from wind-band transparency to orchestral density, from wit to gravity.