Aurelia Faidley-Solars, Cello

Aurelia Faidley-Solars is a 14-year old American cellist who has garnered international attention as a young concert artist.  Aurelia currently studies at the Juilliard School of Music with Zvi Plesser and is the recipient of The Jacobs Scholarship of Music.  She is also a 2023-2024 From the Top Fellow and the youngest Beare’s International Artist.   

Aurelia made her orchestra debut at age ten with the Amati Orchestra in Lausanne, Switzerland, receiving nine curtain calls for her performance of Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major.  She has also recently performed with the London Concert Sinfonia, the London Young Players Consortium, and the State Orchestra of Hamburg in Germany.  Other orchestral performances include the New Hampshire Philharmonic, the Fox Valley Symphony in Chicago, the Ashland Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, the Sempre Musick Symphony in Boston, the Metropolitan Symphony of New York, the Montgomery Symphony in Ohio, the NJ Virtuosi Sinfonietta in New Jersey, the SEEN Orchestra in Chicago, and the Manhattan Sinfonietta, the Northeastern Sinfonietta in Boston, and the NY Chamber Players at Carnegie Hall.   Already a champion for new music, Aurelia gave the world premiere of Canzoni Burlesche, a piece for Cello and Piano by Italian composer, Alessandro Spazzoli in April, 2024.

Aurelia is a prizewinner in numerous competitions, including the Fox Valley Concerto Competition in Chicago, the Ambler Symphony Concerto Competition in Philadelphia, the Hill Concerto Competition in NYC, the Sound Symphony Concerto Competition in New York, the Vienna International Music Competition, the CelloWorld Concerto Competition in Vienna, the Petrichor Competition, Birmingham International Competition in London, the first place winner of the Nouvelles Étoiles in Paris, and first place in ArsClassical in Rome.  She is the youngest prizewinner in the history of The Ronald Sachs International Competition, as well as the three-time New Eastern regionals winner for the Music Teachers’ National Association.  She was also awarded the prestigious Aaron Rosand Memorial Prize and is the 2023 Menges Scholarship recipient.  Aurelia is the youngest finalist in the history for the Artist Presentation Society and was the only student featured in a solo performance celebrating the 130th Anniversary of the New World Symphony, a joint project between the United States and The Czech Republic. Aurelia was the 2023 soloist chosen for the “Young Artists Performers” series in South Carolina, and has toured throughout the northeastern and southeastern United States.

Aurelia currently studies with Zvi Plesser.  Her other major influence has been her long-time teacher and mentor, Hans Jorgen Jensen.   She has studied with or appeared in masterclasses with Laurence Lesser, Richard Aaron, Frans Helmerson, Darrett Adkins, Brannon Cho, Phillipe Muller, David Finckel, Ralph Kirschbaum, Amit Peled, Stephen Doane, Rosemary Elliot, Peter Stumpf, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Clive Greensmith, Matt Haimovitz, Zvi Plesser, Tomasz Strahl, Andres Diaz, Lluis Claret, and Tao Ni, Zlatomir Fung, and Pablo Ferrandez.  At age 11, Aurelia studied at the senior division of the Heifetz International Music Institute.  She has also attended Morningside Music Bridge, Encore Music Institute, and The Meadowmount School of Music, and Music@Menlo.  Other major influences include Melissa Kraut, John-Henry Crawford, and Benjamin Zander, 

Aurelia, an 11th grader at The Professional Children’s School, has a profound passion for the arts. In addition to her skills as a cellist, she shines as a ballet dancer and visual artist, with notable roles in New York City Ballet’s productions of “The Nutcracker” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Her achievements in visual arts were recognized in 2023 when she received a Congressional Award. Aurelia also has a keen interest in singing, studying under Dr. Laura Inman, and she enjoys merging her love of writing with her musical studies, which led to her being invited to contribute a monthly music column to “Artist Weekly.”   She owns a 2- year old crested gecko named “Autumn”.