Biography

Joshua Roman is a cello soloist whose multifaceted career spans performance, composition, curation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Praised for his “effortlessly expressive tone… and playful zest for exploration” (The New York Times), Roman has built a career defined by exceptional artistry, adventurous programming, wide-ranging collaborations, and a commitment to connecting artists and audiences through music.

Highlights of Roman’s 2026–27 season include concerto appearances with the Fort Worth, Columbus, Princeton, and Portland symphony orchestras; returns to Carnegie Hall’s Well-Being Concerts and the Minnesota Beethoven Festival; and continued trio appearances with violinist Tessa Lark and double bassist Edgar Meyer at venues including Corning Civic Music, Emory University’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Arizona Musicfest, and Shenandoah Conservatory.

Roman is an advocate for the growing field of neuroarts and the role of artists and patients in research and care. Upcoming highlights exploring the intersection of music and well-being include residencies and appearances at Johns Hopkins University’s International Arts + Mind Lab, the Oslo Freedom Forum, the Lake Nona Impact Forum, and at Studio 9 in North Adams, Massachusetts, in a co-presentation with Williams College. He continues to advance this work through speaking engagements and collaborations with leading institutions across medicine, public policy, and academia, from the National Institutes of Health to the Kennedy Center.

Roman will also release a new album on Phenotypic Recordings in spring 2027 featuring his chamber music compositions, with performances by collaborators including Yo-Yo Ma and the JACK Quartet.

Central to Roman’s current artistic work is Resonance, a collaborative project featuring Chilean guitarist and vocalist Camila Meza and Trinidadian percussionist Zane Rodulfo. Resonance is the next chapter of Roman’s Immunity project and acclaimed 2024 solo album, expanding his exploration of vulnerability and healing into one of connection, creativity, and shared experience through performance, conversation, improvisation, and listening. Inspired by Roman’s experience living with and recovering from Long COVID, Immunity brought together music by J.S. Bach, George Crumb, Caroline Shaw, and Roman himself, with residencies and speaking engagements at Stanford University, Yale University, the Aspen Ideas Festival, and Oslo Freedom Forum, and concerts at Carnegie Hall.

Roman’s work moves fluidly across genres, disciplines, and artistic communities. He has collaborated with artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Tony Award-winning and MacArthur Fellow Bill T. Jones, GRAMMY^® Award-winning vocalist Somi, and Tony Award-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith. Whether performing standard repertoire, premiering new works, or developing interdisciplinary projects, he brings a distinctive artistic voice shaped by curiosity and musical rigor.

As a soloist, Roman has appeared with leading orchestras throughout the United States and abroad, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, and Mariinsky Orchestra. He was principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony from age 22 to 24.

A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Roman has premiered works by Aaron Jay Kernis, Gabriela Lena Frank, James Lee III, Lisa Bielawa, Mason Bates, Reena Esmail, Timo Andres, and others. As a composer, he has received commissions from Music Academy of the West, Illinois Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Girls Chorus, Grace Cathedral, and numerous other organizations. His music has been performed by artists including the JACK Quartet, violinist Vadim Gluzman, and conductor David Danzmayr.

Roman is also recognized for his work as a curator and cultural innovator. For 15 years, he directed a chamber music series at Town Hall Seattle, presenting artists such as Jennifer Koh, JACK Quartet, and Sō Percussion. He has been an early leader in using digital media to expand the reach of classical music. His performance with the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall was viewed by 33 million people across nearly 200 countries, and projects such as his Popper Etude videos have reached millions more online. He opened the 2017 TED Conference, and his performance of the complete Bach Cello Suites following the 2016 U.S. presidential election became the most widely viewed live event in TED’s history.

A native of Oklahoma City, Roman began playing the cello at age three and gave his first public recital at age 10. He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Richard Aaron and Desmond Hoebig. Roman performs on an 1830 Giovanni Francesco Pressenda cello, generously loaned through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

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