David Caplan

Mexican-American cellist David Caplan began his musical studies at the age of ten and presently studies with Daniel Mcdonough. Previous teachers include Dmitry Kouzov, Jonathan Pegis, Benjamin Whitcomb, and Dee Hagari. As an avid chamber musician, David, along with Quartet Bellezza, won first prize at the 2017 Discover Chamber Music Competition, first prize and audience prize in the junior division of WDAV's Young Musician's Chamber Competition, and the junior division gold medal at the 2017 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Quartet Bellezza was also one of six groups accepted to the 2018 Juilliard String Quartet Seminar. In 2020, David was a finalist in the Coltman Chamber Music Competition in Austin, Texas. David has taken part in lessons and masterclasses with Paul Katz, Astrid Schween, Yeesun Kim, William Grubb, Alan Rafferty, Amir Eldan, Dmitry Kouzov, Tony Ross, Carter Brey, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Hans Jensen, Daniel Mcdonough, Rami Solomonow, Espen Lilleslatten, Darrett Adkins, Ara Gregorian, Renee Paule Gauthier, Eric Kim, Rita Sloan, Andrew Harley, Robert McDonald, Richard Hawkins, Richard Hirschl, the Eroica Trio, and the Jupiter, Jasper, Borromeo, Brentano, and Shanghai String Quartets. He has played under the baton of renowned conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Robert Spano, David Afkham, Kerem Hasan, Victor Yampolsky, Cliff Colnut, Larry Livingston, Ian Hobson, Hilel Kagan, George Manahan, Osmo Vänskä, Allan Dennis, Hugh Wolff, Donald Schleicher, and Gennady Rozhdestvensky. David was the winner of the 2016 Birch Creek concerto competition, which led to his orchestral debut, performing Dvorak's Cello Concerto with the Birch Creek Orchestra. David has participated in side-by-sides with the Lake Forest Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, and the Minnesota Orchestra. In 2017, David appeared as soloist and chamber musician on NPR's From the Top with host Christopher O'Riley as a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist in Longview, Texas, and Reno, Nevada. David is pursuing a degree in cello performance at the University of Illinois under the tutelage of Daniel Mcdonough of the Jupiter String Quartet. He will continue his studies at the University of Michigan, studying with Amir Eldan. David performs on a cello made by Gunther Reuter in 1982, and a David Samuels bow. David has a burning passion for teaching others and has been a guest clinician at Midwest Young Artists’ Conservatory and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He is also a teacher for Young Music Scholars and Through the Staff, two organizations that provide lessons to underserved children. He has made appearances at the Aspen and Taos summer music festivals.