Ronald Leonard is an American

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

. He has had a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, principal cellist and teacher. He is currently on the faculties of the USC Thornton School of Music and the

Colburn School The Colburn School is a private music school in Los Angeles with a focus on music and dance. It consists of four divisions: the Conservatory of Music, Music Academy, Community School of Performing Arts and the Dance Academy. It is located adjace ...

. He was a winner of the Walter Naumburg Competition while a student at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

, where he studied with

Leonard Rose Leonard Joseph Rose (July 27, 1918 – November 16, 1984) was an American cellist and pedagogue. Biography Rose was born in Washington, D.C.; his parents were Jewish immigrants, his father from Bragin, Belarus, and his mother from Kyiv, ...

and Orlando Cole. His first professional position was as a cellist in the Cleveland Orchestra, where he sat on the second stand. Two years later Mr. Leonard became principal cellist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and at that time began teaching at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

. He taught at Eastman for 17 years, spent one year as cellist of the

Vermeer Quartet The Vermeer Quartet was a string quartet founded in 1969 at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont and active until 2007. With performances in practically every major city in North and South America, Europe, the Far East, and Australia, the Verme ...

, and then was appointed principal cellist of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

, a post he held for 24 years. During this time, he soloed frequently with the orchestra. During this entire period he has been very active as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Conducting is his most recent activity; Mr. Leonard is the conductor of the Colburn School Chamber Orchestra and he has been very involved at the USC Thornton School of Music, working with the string sections of both the USC Thornton Symphony and the USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra. From 1993 to 2003, he held the prestigious post of "

Gregor Piatigorsky Gregor Piatigorsky (, ''Grigoriy Pavlovich Pyatigorskiy''; August 6, 1976) was a Russian Empire-born American cellist. Biography Early life Gregor Piatigorsky was born in Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine) into a Jewish family. As a child, ...

Endowed Chair in Violoncello " at the USC Thornton School of Music. He was only third person to ever hold the position, following Piatigorsky himself and

Lynn Harrell Lynn Harrell (January 30, 1944 – April 27, 2020) was an American classical cellist. Known for the "penetrating richness" of his sound, Harrell performed internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with major orchestras o ...

(1986–1993). He is known internationally as, “one of the better ‘cellists originally from Rhode Island”.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American cellists Cello pedagogues USC Thornton School of Music faculty Eastman School of Music faculty Summit Records artists {{US-musician-stub