About David

From 1990 to 2008 David Pereira was Senior Lecturer in Cello at the ANU School of Music. Now he is on the same school’s
part-time staff and continues to be in demand as a performer. He recently has appeared as soloist and chamber player in both the Arts in the Valley Festival in Kangaroo Valley and the Canberra International Music Festival.

David organises his own David Pereira Cello Series at the Wesley Music Centre in Canberra that is an annual ten-concert cello-focused chamber music series. It has a dedicated subscription audience and is unique in Australia.

A versatile cellist

During the last thirty years David has established himself as an outstandingly versatile cellist with appointments to top professional positions. He was for eleven years cellist of the Australia Ensemble (resident at the UNSW), for seven years Principal Cellist of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and for three years Principal Cello with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Other associates in performance have included:  

• Flederman
  
• The Seymour Group
• The String Soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic
• Felix Ayo
  
• The Chilingirian Quartet
• Roger Woodward
• The Australian String Quartet
• The Goldner Quartet
• The Sydney String Quartet

In September 2001 he performed at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival’s special celebration of Australian music in Wales. He has played and taught at the Australian National Academy of Music and at many Australian Youth Orchestra activities.

Music training

David Pereira graduated with the Performer’s and Teacher’s Diplomas from the Sydney Conservatorium as “Student of the Year” after several years’ tuition with John Painter. Then followed four years at Indiana University with Fritz Magg, the completion of a Masters Degree in Cello Performance, and much professional playing experience.

Concert soloist

As concerto soloist David has appeared with the major orchestras in Australia and New Zealand in concertos including those by Dvorak, Elgar, Schumann, Saint-Saëns, Beethoven (Triple), Brahms (Double), JC Bach, CPE Bach, Bruch (Kol Nidrei) as well as concertos written for him by Australians Richard Mills, Barry Conyngham, David Lumsdaine, Larry Sitsky and Bruce Cale.

Recordings

High praise has been awarded to David's recordings. The Wild Russians, with Lisa Moore, piano, on Tall Poppies (TP018), received the inaugural ABC Award for the Best Australian Recording in1993. His first CD of solo Australian cello music was released in July 1996 (Cello Dreaming, TP075). In October 1996 his recording of Carl Vine’s Inner World for Cello and Sampled Cello was released as the first Australian art music CD single (TP101). In 2001 two further CDs of Australian cello music were released by Tall Poppies: the Complete Works for Cello by Peter Sculthorpe (TP136) and a collection of solo works Uluru (TP096). His recording with Ian Munro of the Complete Works for Cello by the Finnish composer Rautavaara (TP156) was released in 2002. In early 2000 Tall Poppies released his recording of the complete Bach Solo Suites (TP144). His most recent CD release, in 2005, was Electric Cello(TP180) containing Australian works for cello with tape or delay.

Forthcoming CD releases include the piano and cello works of Rubinstein, with Larry Sitsky, and a first disc of his own solo cello compositions.  

Awards

In late 1997 Pereira was awarded the Sounds Australian Award for the Best Performance of an Australian Composition in the ACT (Carl Vine’s Inner World). In 1998 he was awarded the Sounds Australian National Award for the Best Performance of an Australian Composition for his recording of the Lumsdaine Garden of Earthly Delights (TP113). This recording also won him his second ABC Award for the Best Australian Recording (1998).

Books

David has published three books on cello playing and pedagogy and a volume of original cello studies. The latest (2008) is The Larrikin Cellist – 68 ideas on freedom and control for the extraordinary cello student. He composes regularly and grows his improvisation skills as well.

Instrument

David plays a wonderful old Italian cello by Guidantus dated from 1730, generously on loan from the family of Nick Holmes.

Photographs:

1. David Pereira, 2007. Photograph courtesy of The Australian. 
2. Trio Empyrian: David Pereira, cello; Wendy Lorenz, piano; Andrew Lorenz, violin; 2008.
3. The Guidantus cello (dated from 1730), on loan to David from the family of NIck Holmes.