Leading an active musical life in different genres of the industry, Sebastian Bäverstam is a classical cellist, pianist, and composer as well as a librettist, improviser, and conductor. In his spare time he plays video games which he sometimes streams online, as well as invents board games and plays poker.
Sebastian grew up in Newton, MA, and studied music seriously from a young age. He performed extensively in the Boston area with his family, called “The Bäverstam Chamber Players”. As a teenager, Sebastian focused more intensely on performing as a cellist and dropped piano and composition altogether. He toured with his youth orchestra in South America and China, performing Dvorak’s cello concerto as well as Strauss’s Don Quixote, both pieces he would play numerous times later.
After receiving first prize in local youth concerto competitions, Bäverstam attended the New England Conservatory where he studied with cellist Paul Katz from the Cleveland Quartet. During this time, Bäverstam won the 2010 Concert Artists Guild competition. This afforded him the opportunity to work with professional management. His debut at Carnegie’s Weill recital hall in 2012 led to him revive his passion for composition where he premiered a set of variations for solo cello on the traditional theme Frère Jacques.
After several tours of the United States, Sebastian took a hiatus from performing in order to study composition full time. He studied privately with Alla Elena Cohen of Berklee college, and then studied in Stockholm with Per Mårtensson at the Royal Conservatory of Stockholm. During this developmental time, he tried out his compositions in private house concerts along the east coast of the US. These experiences are what enabled Bäverstam to find his unique writing style which he now calls “Futurism”. Sebastian has now made his foray into a double career as performer and composer. The premiere for his cello concerto will be held this May in Boston with his new orchestra he founded; the Vangarde Symphony Orchestra. Bäverstam also regularly performs with pianist Constantine Finehouse and they just released a new album titled “Settling Old Scores” which can be found on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.
Musical Education:
Undergraduate Diploma, New England Conservatory of Music. June, 2011.
Boston, MA.
Cello with Paul Katz, Ronald Feldman, Andrew Pearce, Yeesun Kim, Andrés Díaz, Richard Aaron.
Master classes with Timothy Eddy, Gary Hoffman, Frans Helmerson, Martha Gershefsky, Orlando Cole, Stephen Doane, Alexander Bailee, Ralph Kirshbaum.
Highest Level Certificate with Honors, New England Conservatory Preparatory School. June, 2007. Boston, MA.
Ravinia Festival 2012; Verbier Festival & Academy 1999, 2006 & 2007; Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Blonay, Switzerland 2006; Carteret Cello Festival Normandie, France 2006; Encore Music Festival 2005 & 2003; Rockport Maine Festival Next Generation Concerts 2003 & 2004; Greenwood Music Camp 1997-2002 & 2004.
Composition with Larry Bell, Rodney Lister, Alla Cohen. Piano with Margaret Bachelder.
Composition master classes with Gunther Schuller, Donald Martino, John Harbison.
Awards and Competitions:
2010 Winner Concert Artists Guild International Competition
2006 First Prize Boston Symphony Concerto Competition
2006 Johansson International String Competition, Best Interpretation of
Commissioned Piece
2006 Harvard Music Association Young Artist Award
2005-2006 Featured Artist in Brookline Friends of Chamber Music Series
2005 Featured Young Artist for Williamstown Chamber Music Concerts
2004 New England Chamber Music Foundation Winner for Shostakovich interpretation
2004 First Prize Quincy Symphony Concerto Competition
2003-2004 First Prize Newton Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition
2003-2004 First Prize Brockton Symphony Concerto Competition
2003 First Prize Concord Symphony Concerto Competition
2002-2003 and 2000-2001 First Prize New England Conservatory Preparatory School Concerto Competitions
Performance Highlights:
2019, April. Premiere of original work for sextet at the Royal Hall of the Royal Conservatory of Stockholm in Sweden.
2019, August. Solo recital at the Atheneum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
2019, March. Premiere of original cello concerto reduction at the Mazer Chamber Music Society in Stockholm, Sweden.
2018, March. Performed Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with Mclean Symphony Orchestra in Virginia.
2016, October. Performed full recital with ensemble Zubabu at Grace Episcopal Church in Virginia.
2015, June. Performed at the Fundação Maria Luisa e Oscar Americano in Saõ Paulo, Brazil.
2014, December. Performed full recital at the Wiener Saal, Mozarteum.
2013, November. Performed Elgar Cello Concerto with Chicago University Orchestra.
2011, January. Performed debut recital at Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall.
2008, January. Performed Beethoven Triple Concerto with Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra.
2007, May and June. Performed Dvorak Concerto with New England Conservatory’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra in Boston’s Jordan Hall and on tour in China.
2007, March. Performed full recital as winner of Harvard Music Association Award.
2007, January. Performed Schumann Cello Concerto as substitute for Lynn Harrell with the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra.
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