Meet cello mentor Bonnie Hampton

San Francisco cello legend Bonnie Hampton says her chamber music instincts evolved early: Although she began playing piano at age 4, “I wanted to play with other people so that’s why I wanted to start on the cello.” And she remembers that “it was a big thrill when I started working on that Prelude (of the first Bach suite). That was a big day in my life!”

Bonnie calls the 20^th century “the Cello Century.” That’s when the cello emerged as a solo instrument and saw a huge growth in popularity, and particularly for solo performance. She says that there’s just something about that one person on stage; the audience’s attention is naturally concentrated in a way that brings everyone deeply into the music itself.

“As a cellist,” she says, “if there’s one thing that I want to be able to achieve in my life, it’s being able to play these works as well as I can. Because they symbolize something that is so pure, musically, for the cello.

“Bach is our granddaddy! He expressed everything. It was the language of his day, but it has all of the passion, all the love, and of course the religious and spiritual side of things – just everything!”

Join Bonnie on April 5 to learn more about her passion for the cello and for Bach!