John Michel, in his thirty-second year as cello professor at Central Washington University, enjoys his eclectic career as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher.
In addition to regular solo recitals, he has performed Strauss’ Don Quixote, Shostakovich #1, Dvorak, Herbert, Elgar, Haydn D & C, Tchaikovsky Rococo, Maria Newman, Saint Saëns and Vivaldi E minor concertos. With his wife Carrie Rehkopf he has performed the Beethoven Triple and Brahms Double Concertos, the latter performed for memory in Seattle, Olympia and Ellensburg, and the last movement at the Kennedy Center under the steady baton of Nikolas Caoile. More recent collaborations were with Lawrence Golan and the Yakima Symphony; John Welsh and the SOGO Symphony; David Walton and the Rainier Symphony; R. Joseph Scott and the Sammamish Symphony; Ryan Heller and the Southwest Washington Orchestra; and Paul Elliott-Cobbs and the Everett Symphony.
In double series concerts, Mr. Michel has performed all of the six Bach Cello Suites for memory, and regularly appears in the Seattle Bach Suite Marathon.
In 2001, he was one of seven guest artists featured at the First Kobe International Cello Festival in Japan where he gave a solo recital and masterclass, as well as performed in the Grand Cello Concert with 750 other cellists from around the world. In 2015 he returned with five students to Gumi, Japan for the 1000 Cellists Concert. At the World Cello Congress III, he premiered the new Solo Cello Sonata “Othmar” by composer Maria Newman. He has published recordings onto CD and for digital distribution including the Dvorak Cello Concerto, Shostakovich Cello Concert #1, Bach Suites G & C, Maria Newman Solo Sonata and numerous live recordings.
Mr. Michel is a founding member of the Kairos (formerly Kairos Quartet) which holds an endowed professorship as the CWU resident ensemble. More recently, Kairos performed with Dr. Moli Chiang at the National Recital Hall of Taiwan and collaborated with various artists including distinguished pianists Stephen Beus, Duane Funderburk, Yerin Kim, Eduard Zilberkant and Tatjana Rankovich; violinists Kathryn Votapek, Brendan Shea, Aaron Berofsky, Vanessa Moss, Allion Salvador and David Perry; violist Michelle Rahn, Jessica Jaspar and Tim Betts; choreographer Shauna Barger, Diane DeFranco Browne and Jackie Kopcsak; and visual artists Mellasenah Williams and Rachel Kirk. The Kairos continues to premiere and/or commission new works by composers including Duane Funderburk, Charles Berofsky and Matthew Armbrust. For twenty years, the Kairos Quartet performed throughout the Northwest and beyond. The Kairos Quartet recorded Maria Newman’s "Birthday of the Infanta" on the Raptoria Caam label. On occasion, he substitutes in the cello section of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
He was the founder and former director of the Internet Cello Society, a cyber-community of cellists, that shared the knowledge and joy of cello playing with enthusiasts from around the globe. At one point, 20,000 ICS members represented 84 different countries. It is now permanently archived at CelloBello.com. He served on the board of the New Directions Cello Association. Regionally, he hosts the Central Cello Celebration, a special gathering of cellists from across the Northwest.
During the summers, Mr. Michel has performed and taught at the Music & More SummerFest in Bosnia & Herzegovina, InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy, Chautauqua Summer Chamber Music Festival, Kairos Chamber Music Lyceum, Marrowstone Music Festival and the Evergreen Music Festival. He also has been co-director and faculty at the Icicle Creek Music Festival and Institute. He has given masterclasses for the Banff International Orchestra Festivals; Olympia, Icicle Creek and Tacoma Youth Symphony organizations; the Seattle Cello Society and the Interlochen Arts Camp. The American String Teacher Association, Washington chapter, named him Outstanding College String Teacher in 1996.
His formal training includes Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Michigan and the New England Conservatory, respectively. Bernard Greenhouse of the Beaux Arts Trio, Jeffrey Solow, Stefan Popov, Ned Johnson, John Lenz and Susan Ladley were his main cello teachers.
He is married to violinist Carrie Rehkopf, and father of three active young men. He continues his father’s professional photography business as Skyline Studios, skylinestudios.org focusing on portraiture and publicity photos. For recreation, he enjoys playing tennis and strategy games including online chess.
