SHORT BIOGRAPHY
As of 2023 Mr. Satinsky completed a 25 year stint as principal of the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. He has been lauded in his role both as leader of the cello section and as soloist with the orchestra. On two instances, renowned guest pianists invited him forward to collaborate on virtuoso encores by Schumann and Shostakovich. He has become a sought after performer in concert series throughout the Naples area, including Big Arts (Sanibel Island) and Koreshan Art Hall Series (Estero).
By contrast Mr. Satinsky spent his pandemic lockdown year (2020) honing his playing by tackling the monumental etude repertoire, including recording the 40 Popper Etudes in just over 40 days. This experience led him to reexamine his career, inspiring him to take time away from orchestral playing to live and perform in his wife’s home country, Thailand.
In his early years Satinsky played in a string trio with two equally talented violinists, performing and competing in the greater Washington, D.C. area. The young musicians dubbed themselves the “Trio Con Brio”. He also attended the Interlochen Arts Camp for 3 summers, giving him his first opportunities to solo with an orchestra. It was after this that he began commuting to Baltimore, Maryland for lessons, chamber music and orchestral studies at the Peabody Institute’s Preparatory division. As the only Prep student to receive Stephen Kates’ advanced training, he was exposed to the great repertoire young and eventually performed a Haydn Concerto with the orchestra. His subsequent college degrees include a Bachelor’s of Music from Eastman and an Artist’s Diploma from Indiana University, with the latter performance-focused degree enabling him to devote all his time to absorbing the wisdom from the legendary Janos Starker. Fellow student Jeremy Denk, a now internationally acclaimed pianist, collaborated with Satinsky on multiple recitals.
Since the age of 14 he has added his unique signature musicianship to the summer festival scene in such scenic places as Boulder, CO; Teton Village, WY; Bellingham, WA; Marlboro, VT; Aspen, CO; Ernen, Switzerland; and Banff, Canada. More recently he has helped establish new chamber music festivals – one in the Low Country (in and around Beaufort, SC and Savannah, GA) and one in North Miami Beach (held in the winter).
His magnificent cello is a Christopher Dungey creation – a mere five years old – made in Grand Junction, CO. Satinsky has expanded his range of pursuits to restaurateur, opening multiple Thai Fusion restaurants with his wife.
LONG BIOGRAPHY
For Adam Satinsky, music has always been a vehicle for exploring the balance between spontaneity and precision, and between personal expression and communication. He has studied with Miron Yampolsky of the Washington Conservatory (D.C.), Stephen Kates of the Peabody Institute, Paul Katz of the Eastman School of Music, and Janos Starker of Indiana University, as well as attending master classes with prominent cellists such as Lynn Harrell, Ronald Leonard, Luis Garcia-Renart, Stephen Isserlis, Aldo Parisot, and Yo-yo Ma. This rich and varied training has given Adam a mastery of his craft; perhaps more importantly, it has opened his eyes to many different forms of musicianship and allowed him to develop his uniquely warm and personal style of cello playing.
From an early age, Adam began winning competitions and receiving awards. At twelve and thirteen he won subsequent concerto competitions at the Interlochen National Music Camp in Michigan (the second year surpassing high schoolers many years his senior). Two years later he won first prize in the concerto competition at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, MD. At the young age of sixteen he entered the Eastman School of Music to study with Paul Katz, and also received an award from the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts in recognition of his artistic talent. He earned his Bachelor’s of Music and Performer’s Certificate from Eastman. Upon embarking on graduate studies at Indiana University with Janos Starker, Adam began placing in and winning both national and international competitions: the Tilden Competition for the National Arts Club of New York (1992, second prize), the National Solo Competition for the American String Teachers Association (1992, first prize), the Santa Barbara Symphony/Esperia Foundation Competition (1992, first prize), the Max D. Jost International Cello Competition in Lausanne, Switzerland (1994, semifinalist), the Indiana University Concerto Competition (1994, first prize), and IU’s Kuttner String Quartet Competition (1995, first prize).
Adam has been full time principal cellist of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in SC and the Naples Philharmonic in FL, the latter since 1997. He has also performed many different concerti with orchestral accompaniment, including the Beethoven Triple, Brahms Double, Shostakovich No. 1, Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations, Haydn’s C and D major, Schumann, Saint-Saens No. 1, Boccherini No. 2 in D major, and Elgar.
Adam’s duo and chamber music repertoire is equally varied. He has performed frequent chamber recitals in the Naples area as part of the Naples Philharmonic “Candlelight Series” and other musical series, and also travels around the country to cities such as Washington, D.C.; Montpelier, VT; Gaithersburg, MD; and Iowa City, IA, for performances and master classes. Adam has performed solo and chamber music by J. S. Bach, Shostakovich, Schnittke, Rachmaninoff, Poulenc, Hindemith, Schumann, Prokofieff, Chopin, Franck, Brahms, Bartok, Granados, Ginastera, Lutoslawski, Kodaly, Debussy, and many other composers. In the summer of 2018 he helped to establish the Lowcountry Chamber Music Festival, a world class assemblage of international musicians (in Savannah, GA, and Beaufort, SC). He joined an illustrious group of musicians in North Miami Beach to present their inaugural season of a special winter chamber festival in December, 2018 (the Glenn Douglas Winter Chamber Music Festival). Both festivals had great success in 2019 and 2022 as well, with Adam making his crucial contribution.
Some of Adam’s favorite moments in his musical career have come while teaching and performing at various music festivals around the world. In North America he has participated in the Grand Teton, Bellingham, Sarasota, Marlboro, Banff, Aspen and Ravinia Music Festivals — truly a wondrous variety of cities and mountainous regions. No less awe inspiring were his European excursions to festivals in Ernen, Switzerland; Heidelberg, Germany; the North Carolina School of the Arts extensive tour of Europe; and Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
As of January, 2024, Satinsky has taken up residence in Bangkok, Thailand. He has begun concertizing in smaller, intimate venues around the city.
CURRICULUM VITAE
ORCHESTRAS
Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, Naples, FL, principal cello, 1997 – 2024
Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Charleston, SC, principal cello, 1995 – 1996, section cello 1996 – 1997
RECITALS & CHAMBER MUSIC
Founding member of the Glenn Douglas Winter Chamber Music Festival, Shana Douglas artistic director, North Miami Beach, FL, December 2018/January 2019, and 2019/2020
Founding member of the Lowcountry Chamber Music Festival in Beaufort, SC and Savannah, GA, summers 2018 and 2019
Performance for Italian Cultural Society, “Paganini and Friends”, Moorings Presbyterian Church, Naples, FL, January 2019
Annual Chamber Music Series at Artis-Naples
Solo and chamber music interludes for Naples United Church of Christ with music director Becky Weese-Rumpf
Annual performance of Kol Nidre for the Jewish Congregation of Marco Island
Koreshan State Historic Site, Estero, FL – Art Hall concert series, Bella Gutshtein director
Hyacinth Concert Series, Moorings Presbyterian Church, Naples FL, with pianist Alexandra Carlson
Tuesdays at Twilight Series, Naples United Church of Christ
Grand Teton Music Festival summer chamber music performances
Founding member of Ars Nova String Trio – performances at Big Arts, Sanibel Island, FL, January 2013; and CAPA Spectrum Series, Wang Opera Center, Naples, FL, January 2017, among others
Chamber music / multi-media programs, Russian Cultural Center’s “Music Salon”, Naples, FL
Recital, Heath Concert Series, The Violin Shop, Bonita Springs, FL, February 2012, with pianist Alexandra Carlson
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Naples, FL, December 2007
Recital, World Bank, IFC Cultural Center, Washington, DC, with pianist Thomas Bagwell, February 2007
Recital, First Presbyterian Church, Naples, FL, November 2006
Lecture/recital series, Asbury Methodist Village, Gaithersburg, MD, with pianist Thomas Bagwell, September 2004 and January 2006
Recital, Riderwood Village, Gaithersburg, MD with pianist Thomas Bagwell, September 2005
University of Iowa and Grinnell College, March 2005
Recital series in Montpelier, Vermont, at Vergennes Opera House, and on Grindstone Island with pianist Mary Jane Austin, August 2002
Recital at Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church, Naples, FL, December 2002
CONCERTI
Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations (original), Naples Community Orchestra, 2023
Haydn Concerto No 2 in D major, Camerata of Naples, 2023
Haydn Concerto No 1 in C major, Naples Philharmonic, 2019
Strauss Don Quixote, Naples Philharmonic, 2015
Schumann Cello Concerto, 5th Avenue Chamber Orchestra, Naples, Florida, 2013
Bloch Schelomo, Naples Philharmonic, 2012
Additional concerto performances with the Naples Philharmonic, including the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1, Brahms Double Concerto, Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations, Bruch Kol Nidre, Haydn Concerto in D, Boccherini Concerto in D, two Vivaldi concerti, and CPE Bach Concerto in A
Elgar Cello Concerto with the Charlotte Symphony, 2009
Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Charlotte Symphony, 2008
Schumann Cello Concerto in A minor, Indiana University Philharmonic, 1995
Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations, Santa Barbara Symphony, 1993
Haydn Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major, Gibbs Chamber Orchestra, Eastman School of Music, 1989
Haydn Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, Peabody Chamber Orchestra, 1988
Saint-Saens Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, WYSO, National Music Camp, Interlochen, 1985
Boccherini Cello Concerto No. 9 in B flat major, ISO, National Music Camp, Interlochen, 1984
FESTIVALS
Founding member of the Glenn Douglas Winter Chamber Music Festival, Shana Douglas artistic director, North Miami Beach, FL, December 2018/January 2019, 2019/2020, and 2022
Lowcountry Chamber Music Festival, Beaufort, SC and Savannah, GA, June 2018 and 2019
Grand Teton Music Festival, Teton Village, WY, 1999 to 2015
Bellingham Music Festival, Bellingham, WA, with the American Sinfonietta, 2002, 2003, 2008, and 2022
Colorado Music Festival, Boulder, CO, 1998, 1999
Ernen Musikdorf, Ernen, Switzerland, 1996
North Carolina School of the Arts Festival Orchestra, International Music Program, principal cello, 1995
Marlboro Music Festival, Marlboro, VT, 1993, 1994
Steans Institute, Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, IL, 1992
Heidelberg Festival Orchestra, Heidelberg, Germany, 1990
Sarasota Music Festival, Sarasota, FL, 1989
Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, CO, 1988, 1986
Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara, CA, 1987
TRAINING
Indiana University School of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, with Janos Starker, artist’s diploma, 1992 – 1995
Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, with Paul Katz, bachelor of arts (music), performer’s certificate, 1988 – 1992
Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, Aldeburgh, England (UK), attended master classes with William Pleeth, 1992
Gregor Piatigorsky Seminar for Cellists, Flora L. Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, attending master classes with Lynn Harrell, Ronald Leonard, and Luis Garcia-Renart, summer 1991
Master classes with Stephen Isserlis and Aldo Parisot, Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada, 1991
Master class with Yo-yo Ma, The Quartet Program, Great Woods, Norton, MA, 1989
Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, with Stephen Kates, 1985 – 1988
Private lessons with Miron Yampolsky, Potomac, MD, 1977 – 1985
Private coaching with Felix Galamir and Jeffrey Kahane
AWARDS
First prize, Kuttner Competition, Indiana University, 1995
First prize, Indiana University Concerto Competition, 1994
Semifinalist, Max D. Jost International Cello Competition, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1994
First prize, Santa Barbara Symphony/Esperia Foundation Competition, 1992
First prize, American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition, 1992
Second prize, Tilden Competition, National Arts Club of New York, 1992
Finalist, National Symphony Orchestra Competition, Washington DC, 1990
Award recipient, National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts (NFAA), art recognition and talent search, 1989
First prize, Peabody Institute Concerto Competition, 1987
First prize, Interlochen National Music Camp Concerto Competition, 1984 and 1985
TEACHING
Performed recitals and led master classes at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, and the Cedar Rapids Symphony School, Cedar Rapids, IA, March 2005
Assistant professor, Music Department, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, 1995 – 1996
Private lessons and coaching since 1995