Alexander Hersh, Cello

Biography

A native of Minnesota, Alexander
Hersh moved to Chicago at the age of 2. He began playing cello at the age of 5
studying first with Ron Chambers, and later with Stephen Balderston. When he
was 9, he joined the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Concert Orchestra. He
received an honorable mention in the Junior Division of the 2007 MYA/Walgreens
Competition and later in the Senior division of the 2009 MYA/Walgreens
competition. Alex took first place at the Chicago Youth Concert Orchestra
Concerto Competition in 2007, and performed as soloist with the orchestra in
2008. He was a semifinalist in the 2010 Lennox International Young Artist
Competition. As a member of the Emerald String Quartet, Alex won the Jules M.
Laser National Chamber Music Competition. In previous years he was a
Quarter-finalist in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Recently,
Alex was invited to Hawaii to appear on NPR’s, “From The Top.”

Born into a family of string
players, Alex is the 4th generation to play an instrument. His father, Stefan
Hersh, and mother, Roberta Freier are both active professional violinists. His
grandfather Paul Hersh, teaches piano and viola at the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music, and his great grand father, Ralph Hersh, was the violist
in the Stuyvesant quartet and Principal violist in the Dallas and Atlanta
Symphony Orchestras.

An active attendee of summer
programs, Alex has attended such festivals as the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra
music camp, Madeline Island Music Camp, and the Meadowmount School of Music.
Alex currently attends Jones College Prep, and the Academy program at the Music
Institute of Chicago, where he is on a merit based scholarship. Alex currently
studies with Hans Jensen. He has performed in master classes for Bion Tsang,
William Grubb, Richard Hirschl, and Gavriel Lipkind. He plays an early 20th
century Italian cello made by Anselmo Gotti.