Cellist and baroque cellist Eleanor Christman has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician throughout the United States, in Canada, and in France.
Dr. Christman is currently the principal cellist of the Idaho State Civic Symphony, and has also played in the Tallahassee Symphony, the Madison Symphony, Ballet West, the Utah Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic, the Helena Symphony, and will perform this May as a member of the Colorado Mahlerfest Orchestra. While being a small part of a large ensemble is appealing, her greatest love is chamber music, as she enjoys the more personal artistic expression and the intimacy of a group that has just one player on a part. As a member of the Monarch Trio in residence at Idaho State University, she has performed throughout the region, most notably as part of the community series of the Grand Teton Music Festival. She premiered Stephen Dembski's Suite for Solo Cello, and has worked with such composers as John Harbison and David Ludwig. She appears with soprano Diana Livingston Friedley on her album Howard Boatwright Selected Music for Voice and Instruments and will also appear on trumpet player and composer Eddie Ludema's forthcoming album in a piece of his composing, Bix a Beh for trumpet, bass clarinet, cello, and electronics.
As a baroque cellist, Dr. Christman is interested in bringing early music to life in a way that considers the ideals of the time period, an approach often referred to as historically informed performance. She has appeared in several performances of Bach's St. John and St. Matthew passions, most recently with the Salt Lake Choral Artists. She is a member of Utopia Early Music and a founding member of Great Basin Baroque, which was the recipient of an Early Music America grant. She can be heard on Radio West's Film Series That One Moment, in an episode featuring “He was Despised” from Handel's Messiah. She has performed at the Idaho Bach Festival, in the University of Utah's Sundays @ 7 series, as an educator and performer with the Madison Bach Musicians, and as part of the ensemble that gave the North American premiere of C.P.E. Bach's cantata Ich bin vergnügt in meinem Stande.
Dr. Christman is in agreement with world-renowned cellist János Starker: she cannot perform without teaching or teach without performing. She finds great fulfillment in educating future generations of cellists, and is currently the Assistant Professor of Cello at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho. Previously she held positions at Ripon College, Utah Valley University, and the Salt Lake Community College. As a certified Laban Movement Analyst, she has presented her research on LMA for musicians in Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies Contemporary Applications by Colleen Wahl, at the Idaho Music Educators Conference and the Laban Institute of Movement Studies International Conference. She also teaches at the Summer Institute for Piano and Strings and the Teton Valley Chamber Music Festival, and has been invited to teach and perform at the Saarburg Festival in Germany this July.
Dr. Christman holds a BM degree from Indiana University, and MM and DMA degrees from the University of Wisconsin. Former teachers include Uri Vardi, Emilio Colon, Helga Winold, Irene Sharpe, and Janet Anthony. She has also worked with Scott Tisdel, Christina Mahler, Hillary Metzger, Bonnie Hampton, Laurence Lesser, and members of the Emerson and Borodin quartets.
Dr. Christman plays a Camillo Mandelli 'da Calco' cello, dating from circa 1928 and an anonymous German cello, dating from circa 1900.