Clive Greensmith
cello (Montrose Trio)
Clive Greensmith was the principal cellist of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and was the cellist of the renowned Tokyo String Quartet. With the quartet, he gave more than 100 international performances each year. He has collaborated with artists such as András Schiff, Pinchas Zukerman, Leon Fleisher, Lynn Harrell, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Alicia de Larrocha, and Emanuel Ax. As a soloist, he has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the RAI Orchestra of Rome.
At age 20, Mr. Greensmith came to the music world’s attention during an international broadcast of a BBC master class series hosted by legendary cellist Paul Tortelier. He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in England with American cellist Donald McCall, and continued his studies at the Musikhochschule Köln in Germany with Russian cellist Boris Pergamenschikow. As a major prizewinner in the first-ever Premio Stradivari held in Cremona, Italy, Mr. Greensmith was launched into a series of major recital and concerto appearances throughout Europe.
In addition to a 15-year residency with the Tokyo String Quartet at Yale University, Mr. Greensmith has served as a member of the faculty at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Royal Northern College of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and New York University. He joined the faculty of the Colburn School Conservatory of Music in 2013 as Professor of Cello and has served as Co-Director of String Chamber Music Studies.
Mr. Greensmith is a founding member of the Montrose Trio with pianist Jon Kimura Parker and violinist Martin Beaver. For more information, see www.clivegreensmith.com, www.montrosetrio.com.
Sponsors: Frances K. Walton and Kathryn A. Zufall, in honor of Laila Storch and Martin Friedmann