On Sunday, November 17, cellist Alexander Hersh looks forward to performing Ernest Bloch’s “Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello and Orchestra” with Symphony Parnassus in the first concert of its 30th season.

“‘Schelomo’ is a great piece of repertoire that you grow up hearing a lot if you’re a cellist,” he said. “I’ve heard it my whole life, but I’ve never performed it with an orchestra, so this is exciting for me. It’s a fascinating work. It’s wondrously profound and very moving.”

Alexander finds playing this piece with a full orchestra to be both technically and musically fulfilling. 

“You learn a piece so much better when you play with an orchestra,” he said. “It’s so different than rehearsing with a piano, in how much more you have to project, not just volume, but your ideas. In a way, it teaches you the piece so much better because you have to be cognizant of so much more. It’s a thrilling experience.”

When he performs on the stage at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Alexander will celebrate deep family roots and a sense of music history: His father, Stefan Hersh, a violinist, and uncle, Julian Hersh, a cellist, both graduated from the conservatory where their father (and Alexander’s grandfather) Paul Hersh is currently a professor of viola and piano.

Another local connection is the composer: Bloch, a Swiss-born American whose music reflects Jewish cultural and liturgical themes, was the first artistic director for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1925-1930. He also taught at UC Berkeley from 1939 to 1952.

A 4th generation string player, Alexander traces his musical past back to his great grandfather, Ralph Hersh, who was a member of the WQXR and Stuyvesant string quartets and principal violist of the Dallas and Atlanta Symphony orchestras. His mom, Roberta, is also a professional violinist (now playing in the orchestra for “Hamilton” in Chicago); his dad performs all over and teaches at Roosevelt University.

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Playing cello since he was 5, the now-26 Alexander grew up in Chicago, where he still lives, though he travels a lot to perform, mostly in New York and Philadelphia. In September alone, he did 11 concerts; in October, six concerts. A passionate chamber musician, Alexander is co-artistic director of NEXUS Chamber Music, a collective of international artists who present a two-week chamber music festival across the city of Chicago each August.

Already considered one of the most exciting and versatile artists of his generation, Alexander has performed as soloist with the Houston Symphony and Boston Pops, and has won many top prizes at competitions  worldwide, including the 2019 Astral Artists National Auditions, National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Young Artists Competition, New York International Artists Association Competition, Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra, Ima Hogg Competition, Schadt String Competition, Artist Concerts Series National Solo Competition, and the Luminarts Classical Music Fellowship, to name a few.

He has both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the New England Conservatory of Music and did additional master’s training in Berlin.  

Alexander comes to the Bay Area at least twice a year. While here, he looks forward to seeing friends, hanging out with his grandfather and going to the Marin County Farmers Market. And practicing, of course. “I will mostly be practicing,” he said. “I have a really busy schedule, so I’m forever cramming for the next performance.”

Maestro Stephen Paulson, artistic director of Symphony Parnassus, will lead the orchestra in a concert that also includes Beethoven’s Overture to “The Ruins of Athens” and Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4, Opus 29.

Advance tickets for Sunday’s concert at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall), 50 Oak St., San Francisco, are available now from BrownPaperTickets. (Tickets are also available at the door.) Please note: The concert starts at 2 p.m.

Alexander Hersh, cello

Guest artist Alexander Hersh performs Bloch’s “Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque” cello concerto with Symphony Parnassus on Sunday, November 17 at SF Conservatory of Music.

Having already performed as soloist with the Houston Symphony and the Boston Pops, cellist Alexander Hersh has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting and versatile talents of his generation. He has received top prizes at competitions worldwide including the: 2019 Astral Artists National Auditions, National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Young Artists Competition, New York International Artists Association Competition, Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra, Ima Hogg, Schadt, Artist Concerts Series National Solo Competition, Luminarts Classical Music Fellowship, Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award, Hellam Young Artist Competition, Boston Pops/New England Conservatory Competition, Jefferson Symphony International Young Artists Competition, Society of American Musicians, Saint Paul String Quartet, and the Fischoff National Chamber Music competition.

The Musiq3 critics of the RTBF Belgian Radio company gave Hersh’s performance at the inaugural Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition in Belgium in 2017 a rave review: “With his scenic presence and charm, Hersh has everything to become the darling of the public.”

A passionate chamber musician, Hersh has performed the complete string quartets of Béla Bartok and Alban Berg and much of the rest of the chamber music canon at music festivals worldwide including: Marlboro, Caramoor, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Music@Menlo, I-M-S Prussia Cove, Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, Amsterdam Cello Biennial, Kneisel Hall, Lucerne, New York String Orchestra Seminar, Domaine Forget, and the Meadowmount School of Music.

Hersh is co-artistic director of NEXUS Chamber Music, a collective of international artists committed to stimulating interest in serious chamber music. NEXUS presents a two week chamber music festival across the city of Chicago each August, featuring new and obscure works alongside standard works of the chamber music canon. NEXUS plays to unusual and intimate venues with the mission of breaking down the barriers that often separate performers from audience members.

 A 4th generation string player, Alexander’s parents, Stefan and Roberta, are both active professional violinists. His grandfather, Paul Hersh, is professor of viola and piano at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and his great grandfather, Ralph Hersh, was a member of the WQXR and Stuyvesant String Quartets, and principal violist of the Dallas and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras.

Raised in Chicago, Alexander Hersh began playing the cello at the age of 5. He studied with Steve Balderston and Hans Jørgen Jensen, and attended the Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago. Hersh received his B.M. from New England Conservatory (with academic honors) where he was a student of Laurence Lesser and recipient of the Clara M. Friedlaender Scholarship. In May of 2017, he received his M.M. from New England Conservatory where he studied under the tutelage of Paul Katz and Kim Kashkashian. Hersh was a recipient of the Frank Huntington Beebe fund for studies in Berlin during the 2017 - 2018 academic year where he studied with Nicolas Altstaedt at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule for Musik Berlin. He plays a G.B. Rogeri cello on generous loan from a sponsor through Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins in Chicago, IL.