Joshua Roman

Joshua Roman, an Arnhold Creative Associate at Juilliard and TED Senior Fellow, is an accomplished and celebrated cellist and composer. As a soloist, Roman has performed with leading orchestras around the world and was the principal cellist at Seattle Symphony, where, at age 22, he was the youngest principal player in the symphony's history.

As a composer, he has been commissioned by Music Academy of the West, Illinois Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and others, and he has written for the JACK Quartet, violinist Vadim Gluzman, and conductor David Danzmayr. Roman has premiered works by other contemporary composers, including Mason Bates, Reena Esmail, and Timo Andres.

Roman, the epitome of health before the pandemic, has suffered from long-haul COVID-19 syndrome since January 2021. In December 2023, he held a sold-out "Well-Being Concert" at Carnegie Hall and launched his musical exploration project, "Immunity." This program combines performance and storytelling to confront the impact of long COVID, which nearly ended his career.

Committed to bringing classical music to new audiences, Roman opened the acclaimed 2017 TED Conference, and his performance of the complete Bach Solo Cello Suites after the 2016 U.S. Presidential election was the most-viewed event in the history of TED’s social channels, with nearly a million live viewers. Roman has long been a leader and innovator in his use of digital and social media, with projects like his Popper Etude videos amassing nearly two million views. His solo performance with the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall was viewed by 33 million people across nearly 200 countries, with Yo-Yo Ma introducing him as “one of the great exemplars of the ideal 21st century musician.”

Roman has performed with leading orchestras around the United States and the world, including the ​​Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, New World Symphony, Toronto Symphony, BBC Scottish, and Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra. For the 2023-24 season, he was the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s inaugural Artist In Residence. He has also collaborated with world-class artists across genres and disciplines, including Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Tony-winner/MacArthur Genius Bill T. Jones, Grammy Award-winning East African vocalist Somi, and Tony Award-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith.

Roman began playing the cello at the age of three on a quarter-size instrument, and gave his first public recital at age ten. He went on to pursue his musical studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Richard Aaron and Desmond Hoebig, former principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra.