Christopher Pidcock

“A generous rare artist-friend to many international colleagues and loyal audiences alike.
Chris’ deep love for the cello, his personal musical voice, and a rare artistic and human
integrity made him a trusted magnet in the classical music world both in Australia and
beyond. His ability to produce and promote unusual memorable events with daring
programs and innovative concert setups is a quiet revolution”
– Gavriel Lipkind - International Solo Cellist

Christopher Pidcock is a cellist who equally enjoys performing on historical and contemporary instruments, exploring composer and performer relationships, and fosters the idea that improvisation is part of being a classical musician.

Christopher’s collaborative relationships with composers such as Alex Pozniak, Mary Finsterer, Georgia Scott, Alan Holley and Kim Cunio have led to new works being written for him.

Christopher’s openness to discovery, either by his audience or musicians in the community of Sydney, led to the creation of Opus Now, a concert series that draws together historical performance, world indigenous music, and contemporary music into a single concert. Artists and parallels in the programming are painstakingly researched to create memorable concert experiences. Opus Now receives support from Create NSW, affirming its place in the cultural scene of Sydney.

Christopher is currently completing his doctorate under the Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s Early Music Department, under the supervision of Daniel Yeadon and Erin Helyard. His focus is on researching early 19th century performance practices through emulation of early recordings to reimagine Beethoven’s Opus 102 Sonatas. Christopher aims to demonstrate a continuum of these performance practices over the 19th century to arrive at a style of playing that Beethoven might have expected.

Christopher’s interest in both early and contemporary music led to the release of his 2020 album “Immersed in Bach”. The album is a reflection on J.S Bach’s formidable Cello Suite no. 4 in E-flat major and six contemporary compositions that share similar mathematical elements to the dances they are paired with. It features music written by Enno Poppe, Salvatore Sciarrino, Mark O’Connor, Mary Finsterer, Alex Pozniak, and the famous jazz-meme, “the lick”.

Christopher regularly performs chamber music with violinists Kristian Winther, Shaun Lee Chen and Harry Ward, and pianists Lee Dionne, Gerard Willems AM, Dr Cecilia Sun, Dr Brieley Cutting and Dr Jocelyn Ho.

Christopher is a passionate teacher and educator, working with the Symphony for Life programme, Chicago Symphony’s MusicCorps, and tutoring at the Riverina Summer School in Wagga Wagga. In 2022 Christopher performed at the opening of the Georges Lentz Sound Chapel, located inside a 10-meter-high water-tank in Cobar.

Overseas, Christopher recently gave a solo recital at the Sagrestia del Vasari, inside of the church of Saint Anna of Lombardi, in Naples. The sacristy is named after Giorgio Vasari who painted its vault frescoes in 1545.

Christopher’s formative music teachers as a child include Helen Swan, Helen Lamour, David Pereira, and then later Christian Wojtowicz in Tasmania, Uzi Wiesel in Sydney, and overseas tuition from Hans Jørgen Jensen, Peter Bruns and his close friend and mentor Gavriel Lipkind.

From 2010 he was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, working with Yo-Yo Ma, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Riccardo Muti, before returning home to Australia to be accepted into the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as a member of the cello section in 2012. Christopher’s awards include the 2007 Gisborne International Music Competition (New Zealand) 1st prize, a Churchill Fellowship in 2008, the 2009 Nelson Meers Foundation Scholarship at the Sydney Eisteddfod, and Semi-finalist in the 2010 ABC YPA.