Hailed by the press for his “bold, rich sound” and “nuanced musicianship,” Israeli cellist Michael Katz has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Tokyo’s Oji Hall, and Jerusalem’s Henry Crown Auditorium. His musicianship has been recognized with many awards, among them all three prizes at the 2011 Aviv Competition, and first prizes at the Juilliard School’s 2010 Concerto Competition and the 2005 Turjeman Competition.

In high demand as a chamber musician, Michael has collaborated and performed with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Peter Frankl, Roger Tapping, Charles Neidich, and others. As the cellist of the Lysander Piano Trio, Michael was a winner of the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Competition, and was awarded first prize in the 2011 Coleman competition and 2011 J.C. Arriaga Competition.

His festival appearances include performances at Ravinia, Music@Menlo, Lucerne, Yellow Barn, Sarasota, Málaga Clásica, and the International Holland Music Sessions. Deeply committed to audience engagement and community outreach, Michael was a fellow in Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect from 2014-16

Born in Tel Aviv, Michael began his cello studies at age 7. He received his bachelor of music degree from the New England Conservatory as a student of Laurence Lesser, and his master of music from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Joel Krosnick. He has completed a doctor of music degree at SUNY’s Stony Brook University as a student of Colin Carr.