Seth Parker Woods
cello
About this Artist
Hailed by The Guardian as “a cellist of power and grace” who possesses “mature artistry and willingness to go to the brink,” two-time Grammy-nominated cellist Seth Parker Woods has established his reputation as a versatile artist and innovator across multiple genres. As The New York Times wrote, “Woods is an artist rooted in classical music, but whose cello is a vehicle that takes him, and his concertgoers, on wide-ranging journeys.” Also at the forefront of fashion, Woods has topped “best-dressed” lists in Variety, Texas Monthly, and the OC Register. Woods has served on the faculty of the USC Thornton School of Music since 2022 and was appointed Robert Mann Chair in Strings and Chamber Music in 2024.
Among the highlights of his 2024/25 season, Woods performs in the world premiere of Nathalie Joachim’s cello concerto Had to Be at Spoleto Festival USA, later performing its New York premiere in his debut with the New York Philharmonic. He performs the East Coast premiere of Rebecca Saunders’ cello concerto Ire as 2024 Guest Artist with The Next Festival of Emerging Artists and makes his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut in the world premiere of a cello concerto by Julia Adolphe. A core member of the music collective Wild Up, Woods performs as a soloist in the group’s Grammy-nominated Eastman Project: Eastman Vol. 4: The Holy Presence, released June 2024 on New Amsterdam Records. In a second new release due out this season on New Focus Recordings, Woods is featured alongside flutist Claire Chase on a recording of music by Anna Thorvaldsdottir.
During the 2023/24 season, Woods brought his Grammy-nominated, autobiographical tour de force Difficult Grace to San Diego and Philadelphia, following the world premiere at New York’s 92nd Street Y and performances at UCLA and Chicago’s Harris Theater the previous season. Difficult Grace was released as an album on Cedille Records in 2023 and was nominated for the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. Woods also performed the Boston premiere of Thorvaldsdottir’s UBIQUE at Harvard University and was featured in performances with violinist Hilary Hahn at Konzerthaus Dortmund in Germany. With American Modern Opera Company, Woods toured a new version of John Adams’ El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered.
In addition to solo performances, Woods has appeared with the Atlanta and Seattle symphonies, in chamber music with Hilary Hahn and pianist Andreas Haefliger, and with European ensembles including ICTUS Ensemble, Ensemble L’Arsenale, zone Experimental, Basel Sinfonietta, and Ensemble LPR. A fierce advocate for contemporary arts, Woods has collaborated with artists representing the classical, popular music, and visual art worlds.
In recent years, Woods has appeared in concert at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms, the Aspen Music Festival, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Das Haus (Brussels), and Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain (Strasbourg), among many other venues. Woods’ debut solo album, asinglewordisnotenough (Confront Recordings-London), has garnered great acclaim since its November 2016 release.
In addition to his post at USC, Woods serves on the artist faculty of the Music Academy of the West each summer. He holds degrees from Brooklyn College and Musik-Akademie Basel, as well as a Ph.D. from the University of Huddersfield. He previously served as Artist in Residence with Kaufman Music Center and the Seattle Symphony and was named an honoree of the 2023 Seattle Symphony Silver Anniversary Gala and recipient of the 2022 Chamber Music America Michael Jaffee Visionary Award.