Black Splendor: Composer & Cellist Gretchen Yanover (on-demand)
Free
Gretchen Yanover, cello
Gretchen Yanover – Through Chenoa's Eyes
Locally grown cellist Gretchen Yanover began playing cello in Seattle Public Schools. She earned a BA in Music Performance and a Teaching Certificate from UW. Gretchen won a position in NW Sinfonietta Orchestra on the same day she taught her first string orchestra classes. Embracing an interwoven path of teaching and performing, Ms. Yanover guided students in music for 17 years, while continuing to grow her solo music career. Gretchen moved her focus from teaching to solo performing in 2016, and continues to compose with her electric cello and looping pedal. She has four solo albums to date.
Gretchen loves exploring places on foot, reading for fun, and having yoga-dance parties at home with her daughter.
About the series: Black Splendor is a 10-part weekly virtual series, part of Lakewold Garden's "Music from Home" concert series. Each episode showcases an artist performing a song of their choosing, followed by a question and answer portion. Led by Creative Director Joe Williams, Black Splendor marks an opportunity to show Black musicians beyond their expected roles.
The broadcast will become available at 2pm Pacific. Black Splendor videos will be uploaded to and viewable at their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_aazWlIvCmB1X53KrK6KWA
Click here to donate to Lakewold Gardens: https://lakewoldgardens.org/donate/
About Gretchen Yanover
Cellist Gretchen Yanover creates spacious string atmospheres woven with warm melodies. She performs with her electric cello and looping pedal, in addition to her acoustic cello performance and recording work. Yanover began her musical life in Seattle public schools, falling in love with the cello's deep sound. Gretchen pursued both performance and music education at University of Washington, embracing an interwoven path of teaching and performing. Ms. Yanover guided students in music for 17 years, while at the same time growing her own solo performing career. Gretchen started playing with a loop sampler around 2001 and it changed her musical life, inspiring her to improvise and compose. Yanover's 5th album will be released March 2024.
Gretchen performs throughout the Pacific Northwest as a soloist on her electric cello, while continuing her classical music life. She has played with Northwest Sinfonietta orchestra since 1998, and is a member of Northwest Sinfonietta's DEI task force, working to make meaningful changes in the classical music culture, along with creating connections in the community. Northwest Sinfonietta has featured Gretchen as a soloist on her electric cello on several occasions.
Yanover has appeared as a soloist for the Earshot Jazz Festival, and presented at TEDx Seattle. She created music for and performed with LeVar Burton for LeVar Burton Reads live, and has had compositions commissioned by Seattle Symphony, Seattle Pacific University, and University of Oregon. Gretchen was the recipient of a Shunpike Artist residency, and was the Town Hall Seattle 2021 Fall Artist in Residence. She is the recipient of a 2023 CityArtist grant from the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.
Gretchen loves exploring on foot, cooking vegan dishes, reading, and social tango dancing.
https://gretchenyanover.com/