Calum Cook
was born in Inverness, Scotland. He studied with Ruth Beauchamp at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh, and later with Leonid Gorokhov at the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey, England, before winning a Scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London where he obtained his Bachelors Degree.
Calum has since enjoyed a successful and varied orchestral career, appearing as Guest Principal Cello with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestra of Opera North, Scottish Opera, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera. For almost a decade he was a member of Kokoro, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s contemporary music ensemble, a group with which he gave many concerts and live radio broadcasts of new music.
Calum was a Professor at the University of Chichester before until he left his full time position in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra to become the Principal Cello of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, in 2014. Calum now appears regularly in the Chicago areaas a member of the Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and as part of the CSO’s MusicNOW contemporary music series. He is the cellist of the Rembrandt Chamber Musicians, giving numerous concerts throughout the Chicago area, and is now a member of the faculty at the Bienen School of Music, Northwestern University. He also performs at the Grand Teton Music Festival, Wyoming, and has appeared at the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society Chamber Music Festival in Wisconsin.
During the pandemic, Calum has continued to expand his online teaching studio, and has been involved with multiple home recorded projects and other socially distanced performances.
Rembrandt Chamber Musicians
Founded in the fall of 1990, Rembrandt Chamber Musicians features five of the most highly accomplished musicians in the Chicago area, including principal members of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Music of the Baroque, and the Chicago Philharmonic. The ensemble’s expansive repertoire, ranging from historically informed performances of baroque classics to contemporary works by local composers, has consistently garnered high praise and recognition.
Lyric Opera Orchestra
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