Annamarie Wellems – Past Concerts

Cellist Annamarie Wellems is a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where she has performed as principal under Milwaukee Symphony conductor Ken-David Masur. She has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a substitute cellist, the Chicago Fringe Opera, Ensemble Mik Nawooj, and was principal of the Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra. In recent summers, she was a fellow at Festival Napa Valley and the Sarasota Music Festival. Annamarie was twice awarded an orchestral fellowship to attend the Aspen Music Festival to study with Richard Aaron and Darrett Adkins, and sat assistant principal of the Aspen Chamber Symphony. A dedicated chamber musician, her ensembles have won the Gold Medal at the M-Prize, St. Paul, and ENKOR international chamber competitions and the junior division Silver Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Annamarie appears on the PBS television show Now Hear This as a Colorado College Music Festival fellow, performing the chamber rendition of Copland's Appalachian Spring with members of the Cleveland Orchestra. She has collaborated with pianist Jon Kimura Parker, and participated in masterclasses for artists including Clive Greensmith, Timothy Eddy, Laurence Lesser, and Menahem Pressler.

Annamarie earned her Bachelor of Music in Houston, Texas at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music with former Houston Symphony principal Desmond Hoebig. She received her pre-college training at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, where she studied with Tanya Carey and Hans Jørgen Jensen. Mentors include Brant Taylor of the Chicago Symphony.