Cellist Astrid Schween has gained a rich following and enjoys a varied career as a soloist, chamber artist and teacher. Since joining the Juilliard String Quartet in 2016, she has appeared at many of the world’s great concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Konzerthaus, Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, The 92nd Street Y, Ravinia, Tanglewood, The Kennedy Center, and on tour throughout China, Japan, Singapore, Europe, Canada and the US.
At the age of 16, Astrid Schween made her concerto debut with the New York Philharmonic and conductor, Zubin Mehta, who also arranged a special invitation for her to study privately in London with the legendary cellist, Jacqueline DuPré. With degrees from the Juilliard School, Schween received her primary training under the guidance of Leonard Rose, Harvey Shapiro, Channing Robbins, Ardyth Alton and Dr. H.T. Ma, with additional studies under Bernard Greenhouse and Eugene Moye. She performed in master classes for Philippe Muller and William Pleeth, and also participated in the Marlboro Music Festival.
Astrid Schween maintains a lively solo performance schedule in addition to her extensive touring with the Juilliard String Quartet, and has been featured in Strings and Strad magazines, on NPR, and was a guest speaker on the topic, “Women in Music” at the Library of Congress.
A longtime member of the Lark Quartet, with whom she earned the Naumburg Chamber Music Award and Gold Medal at Russia’s Shostakovich Competition, her ongoing collaborations have included her role as cellist of the Boston Trio, frequent guest artist at the Boston Chamber Music Society, and more recently, regular appearances at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Center and Heifetz Institute, as well as recital engagements with a variety of celebrated pianist colleagues, including Shai Wosner, Victor Asuncion and Adam Neiman. This summer, she will be recording the Chopin Sonata for the Tone Base platform with pianist Noreen Cassidy Polera.
A dedicated and passionate teacher and mentor, Astrid Schween is a member of the Cello Faculty at Juilliard and was for many years on faculty at the Perlman Music Program and Interlochen Center for the Arts. Her recordings appear on the Sony, Arabesque, Decca/Argo, CRI, New World, JRI, Centaur, NAR, and Point labels. She is represented by Thomas Gallant.