Biography
Jeremy Findlay's passion for the cello began at an early age. He was born in Toronto into a family of musicians and enthusiastically pursued his interest in both solo and chamber music performance. Findlay has appeared internationally as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician in many prestigious venues including the Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Mozarteum in Salzburg, Rudolfinum Hall in Prague, Warsaw Philharmonic, Metropolitan Hall in Tokyo, Izumi Hall in Osaka, Coliseo in Buenos Aires, Municipal Theatre of Sao Paulo, Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, and at Weill Hall at Carnegie and Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, New York.
As a soloist Findlay has performed with orchestras including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Prague Chamber Orchestra, North Czech Philharmonic, Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, South Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, Pilsen Philharmonic, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Cracow Philharmonic, Gdansk Philharmonic, Wroclaw Philharmonic, Lodz Philharmonic, Poznan Philharmonic, Silesian Chamber Orchestra, National Orchestra of Malta, Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss am Rhein, Hermitage Chamber Orchestra in Moscow, Oratorio Sinfonica Japan, Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra in China, Orquestra Sinfonica do Teatro Nacional Claudio Santoro Brasilia and the Symphonic Orchestra of the Municipal Theatre of Sao Paulo. Findlay premiered the Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra (2009) written for him by Jiři Gemrot with the North Czech Philharmonic and recorded it for the Czech Radio in April 2014 with the Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra. Findlay also recorded Gemrot's Lamento for Cello and String Orchestra (2012) dedicated to him with the Prague Chamber Orchestra.
Jeremy Findlay has played at festivals including the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in France, Maribor Festival in Slovenia, the International Musicians Seminar in Cornwall England, “Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival” in Cracow, Festival of “Music in Old Cracow”, International Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdroj, Villach Festival in Austria, "Pietre che Cantano" festival, "Festival Pontino", and "Incontri di Canna" in Italy. Findlay has been featured on radio and television networks including the ORF in Austria, Czech National Radio, the Polish Radio, NHK in Japan, the CBC in Canada and the National Public Radio in the USA. His recording of both of the Saint-Saens cello concertos with the Poznan Philharmonic is available on the DUX label in Poland. Findlay's CD with pianist Per Rundberg of variations for cello and piano by Beethoven, Martinu and Gemrot on the Praga Digitals label is distributed by Harmonia Mundi and was reviewed in STRAD Magazine in 2012: "By using a very simple and unadorned tonal quality for the Beethoven, Jeremy Findlay also points to the development of the cello technique from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day, where he can explore the full range of sounds required".
Findlay's cello lessons began with his father, William Findlay, as a scholarship student at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He continued his studies with Daniel Domb at the University of Toronto where he graduated in 1992. Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council grants provided the opportunity for further studies in Europe where he studied with Josef Chuchro at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and chamber music at the European Mozart Foundation under the direction of Sandor Vegh. Findlay also took part in the masterclasses of Boris Pergamenschikow and Yo-Yo Ma.
Jeremy Findlay has performed in forty-five countries appearing in North America, South America,Asia, Australia, Russia, Middle East and Europe.