An exceptional musician renowned for her fluid technique, gorgeous tone, and brilliant, expressive performances, cellist Hai-Ye Ni enjoys a distinguished, multi-faceted career as principal cellist of the acclaimed Philadelphia Orchestra, and as a sought-after soloist and chamber musician.
A versatile artist whose performances have been praised by the press as “soulfully expressive” (Washington Post) and possessing a “superbly focused sound” (San Francisco Chronicle), Ms. Ni has performed on classical stages around the world, appearing as soloist with such symphony orchestras as Chicago, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Vancouver, Singapore, the Orchestre National de Paris, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony, China Philharmonic, and Hong Kong Philharmonic, among others.
er recital credits include the Lincoln Center New York, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institute, Gardner Museum, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Wallace Collection in London. She has collaborated with some of today’s foremost artists, including pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lang Lang, Jeffrey Kahane, and Yefim Bronfman, and violinists Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Christian Tetzlaff, and Pinchas Zukerman. Among her festival credits are Ravinia, Marlboro, La Jolla SummerFest, Sarasota, Chamber Music Dolomiti (Italy), Pacific Music Festival, Santa Fe, Aspen, Spoleto, Kuhmo, and Pablo Casals (France).
In 2024, Ms. Ni played a recital tour in China, and in the summer, and performed at the Chamber Music Dolomites festival in Italy.
In 2023, she gave a recital at the New England Conservatory, and performed the Barber concerto with the Apollo Orchestra in Washington, DC. Hai-Ye made her solo debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2010 in Saint-Sa&eml;ëns concerto with Maestro Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. She was also featured in Haydn C major concerto, Tan Dun’s The Map Concerto for Cello, Video and Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations; the Brahms “Double” Concerto, and the Beethoven “Triple” Concerto.
Highlights of Hai-Ye’s past performances include an All Baroque Concertos program with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra as soloist and conductor. She also played trio with Lang Lang in 2009 at Carnegie for Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture. In 1997, Ms. Ni premiered composer Bright Sheng’s cello concerto Two Poems in a 14-city U.S. tour, in which she replaced cellist Yo-Yo Ma at his recommendation.
Hai-Ye Ni was born in Shanghai, China and began her cello studies with her mother and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She also studied with Irene Sharp at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Joel Krosnick at The Juilliard School, and with William Pleeth in London.
