ALICJA BLANQUART

I am a professional cellist who graduated from University of Southern California (USC) and Eastman School of Music in cello performance. Growing up in Warsaw, Poland, in a family of professional musicians, classical music has always been part of my life. I dedicated my life to mastering the craft of playing cello in the classical tradition and I feel a great need to share the gift that was given to me.
Classical music is under appreciated, maybe because it is wrongly perceived as exclusive. It is not. For example, the musicians of the Long Beach Symphony come from many different cultures and social backgrounds. Their excellence is their commonality. Classical composers also come from diverse backgrounds and intend their music to be heard by all.

The medium of chamber music uses small ensembles with 2 to 8 instruments. There is usually only one instrument per part. The expression “absolute music” has been used to describe much of chamber music, when the music is about… music itself. Playing and promoting chamber music gives me opportunity to bring the beauty and enrichment of “absolute music” to all who desire it, with free concerts and library educational performances.

These free concerts and library events also help me grow in better connecting to my community as I must listen to be a good teacher. We classical musicians cannot isolate in the echo chamber of our peers and patrons. The tradition we carry demands passionate advocacy in a culture that tends to value newness over what is “classical”.