Kellen Degnan, Cello

Kellen Degnan, described by Cleveland Classical as a performer with “unabashed energy,” is an Akron-based cellist who performs and teaches throughout the United States. 

Kellen has been a member of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra for 5 years, and was previously a member of the Ashland Symphony Orchestra and Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. He also regularly joins the cello sections of the Erie Philharmonic and Canton Symphony Orchestra, among others.  In October 2019, he joined the Mercyhurst Civic Orchestra as soloist, performing Dobrinka Tabakova’s Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra, and in July 2022, he was invited by the Varna International Music Academy to be principal cellist of the orchestra for their productions of Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi and Bizet’s Carmen.

As a member of various string quartets, he has received coachings with outstanding artists in the field, including members of the Cavani String Quartet, and has also performed in masterclasses led by the Jupiter String Quartet, the Takacs String Quartet, Kim Kashkashian, Clive Greensmith, Peter Salaff, and Jinjoo Cho. He has also received coachings in chamber music and sonata repertoire from many noted collaborative pianists, including Elizabeth DeMio, Christopher Harding, Martin Katz, and Anita Pontremoli.

A staunch advocate for the performance of contemporary music, Kellen was a founding member of the Converge String Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to the performance of works by student composers at the University of Michigan, which is still active today. In December 2018, as part of a partnership between the Detroit Composers’ Project, a collaboration with the aim of building performance opportunities in Detroit for local artists and their music, and Hole in the Floor, a cello quartet which he co-founded, he performed the world premieres of six works for cello ensemble. His musical activities extend beyond the classical realm, as well. He joined the band of the Hadestown North American Tour as their substitute cellist during their week in Toledo in 2024, and he has collaborated on several tracks with Detroit-based pop band SIAS.

Kellen is also a sought-after teacher and coach. He is a registered Suzuki cello teacher, having studied through the Cleveland Institute of Music's Suzuki pedagogy program. From 2018 to 2020 he was the cello instructor at Mercyhurst University’s D’Angelo School of Music in Erie, Pennsylvania, and he is currently the cello instructor at the Western Reserve Suzuki School. He is also a recurring guest coach for the cello section of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra.

Kellen holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Anthony Elliott, and a Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Weiss. He has also performed in masterclasses taught by Alisa Weilerstein, David Geringas, and Carter Brey.