Cellist Amos Yang To Join Faculty Of San Francisco Conservatory Of Music

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) today announces the appointment of cellist Amos Yang to its collegiate cello faculty, joining faculty members Jennifer Culp and Jean-Michel Fonteneau. Yang, currently assistant principal cello at the San Francisco Symphony, will accept students to his cello studio at SFCM starting in Fall 2018. He currently coaches string players in the Conservatory Orchestra, teaches an orchestral repertoire class, and works with young cellists in SFCM's Pre-College.

"We are thrilled to have Amos join the collegiate cello faculty at SFCM," says Provost and Dean Kate Sheeran. "His rich orchestral experience and excellent teaching are assets to our program. With the addition of Amos to our cello faculty, we are now proud to have faculty members from every section of the San Francisco Symphony."

"I am looking forward to joining the faculty of SFCM as the school continues to flourish and expand here in San Francisco," says Yang. "As an alumni, learning how to play the cello and growing up playing tag in the parking lot of the old campus on 19th Avenue, I've come a long way and feel extraordinarily honored and privileged to be a part of the faculty."

Yang has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, the Far East, and Europe, appearing at the Aspen Music Festival, the American Academy in Rome, Wigmore Hall, and Alice Tully Hall. He has collaborated with the Ying Quartet, Turtle Island String Quartet, pianists Ann Schein and Melvin Chen, violinist Earl Carlyss, and composer Bright Sheng. Yang's awards include the Performer's Certificate at the Eastman School of Music and first prizes in the American String Teachers Association and Grace Vamos competitions. He was finalist in the Pierre Fournier International Cello Competition and was awarded the C. Jackson Prize at the Tanglewood Music Festival for outstanding musical contribution.

As cellist of the Maia String Quartet from 1996-2002, Yang was involved in many educational programs, performing throughout the country for schools under the auspices of such organizations as Arts Excel, Young Audiences Inc., and the Midori Foundation. During this time he also served on the faculties of the Peabody Conservatory, the University of Iowa, Grinnell College, and the Interlochen Advanced String Quartet Institute.

Yang holds bachelor's and master's degrees from The Juilliard School. His primary teachers have included Irene Sharp, Channing Robbins, Paul Katz, and Steven Doane. Before joining the San Francisco Symphony, Yang was a member of the Seattle Symphony, maintaining a private teaching studio as well as cultivating an active solo and chamber music life. Born and raised in San Francisco, he is a graduate of Lowell High School and was a member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and San Francisco Boys Choir.

About the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Founded in 1917, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music is the oldest conservatory in the American West and has earned an international reputation for producing musicians of the highest caliber. Its faculty includes nearly 30 members of the San Francisco Symphony as well as Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning artists in the fields of orchestral and chamber performance and classical guitar. The Conservatory offers its 400-plus collegiate students fully accredited bachelor's and master's degree programs in composition and instrumental and vocal performance. SFCM was the first institution of its kind to offer world-class graduate degree programs in chamber music and classical guitar. Its Pre-College Division provides exceptionally high standards of musical excellence and personal attention to more than 200 younger students. SFCM faculty and students give nearly 500 public performances each year, most of which are offered to the public at no charge. Its community outreach programs serve over 1,600 school children and over 6,000 members of the wider community. Notable alumni include violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Isaac Stern, conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, soprano Elza van den Heever, Blue Bottle Coffee founder James Freeman and Ronald Losby, President, Steinway & Sons - Americas, among others. The Conservatory's Civic Center facility is an architectural and acoustical masterwork, and the Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall was lauded by The New York Times as the "most enticing classical-music setting" in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit www.sfcm.edu.