The School of Music is excited to announce Matthew Zalkind as Assistant Professor of Cello starting Fall 2025. Praised for his “impressive refinement, eloquent phrasing, and singing tone” by The New York Times, Zalkind regularly performs throughout the United States and abroad as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician. He was awarded First Prize in the Washington International Competition, as well as top prizes in the Beijing International Cello Competition and Korea’s Isang Yun Gyeongnam International Competition.
“I am incredibly excited to join the Mead Witter School of Music,” Zalkind said. “I’ve admired this prestigious program for many years, and I’m truly thrilled to become a part of it.”
As a soloist, Zalkind has performed recitals at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, the Moscow Conservatory in Russia, the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington, DC, and the Beijing Concert Hall in China. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Utah Symphony, Albany Symphony, Hongzhou Philharmonic, Musica Viva Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Tongyeong International Music Festival Orchestra, Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, and numerous other North American orchestras. He has performed under the baton of celebrated conductors including Ludovic Morlot, Thierry Fischer, Giancarlo Guerrero, and David Alan Miller.
An active chamber musician, Zalkind has appeared at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, New York’s Alice Tully Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a former member of the acclaimed Harlem String Quartet, he toured internationally with jazz legends Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, and Gary Burton. He regularly participates in prominent chamber music festivals, including Marlboro and Musicians from Marlboro tours. Alongside his wife, cellist Alice Yoo, Zalkind is the Co-Artistic Director of the Denver Chamber Music Festival, a premier destination for world-class chamber music in Colorado.
Zalkind is a dedicated teacher and currently serves as Associate Professor of Cello at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. His students have been recognized on national and international concert stages. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, as well as a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan. A native of Salt Lake City, his primary mentors included Richard Hoyt, Pegsoon Whang, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Timothy Eddy, and Richard Aaron. Zalkind performs on a rare Italian cello made by Florentine maker Luigi Piatellini in 1760.
