Hi! I’m Will Barrett. I’m a kind and friendly professional cellist. I create personalized, custom, romantic soundtracks for concerts and events around the Bay Area.

I play on a beautiful 100-year-old French cello with a bright, open tone that fills a room. I call her Francine. Francine is fitted with a pickup for electroacoustic sets in extra-large spaces, and I’m happy to bring an amplifier or connect to a PA system if you’ve got a big room to fill with gorgeous sound.

As a collaborator and chamber musician, I’ve performed in quartets and piano trios for decades, frequently partnering with my wife, Dr. Karen Chan Barrett (MM Peabody Conservatory 2008), a gifted pianist. I’ve performed in various venues, including Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Peabody Conservatory’s various concert halls, Baltimore’s Meyerhoff, the University of Maine’s Performing Arts Center, and in a Broadway musical premiere as a pit orchestra member. My media performances have included appearances on Korean National Television in support of the Lunar New Year celebration and on local television in my home state of Maine. As an orchestral musician, I’ve performed under Marian Alsop of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and as a member of the Bangor Symphony.  Despite this, my favorite venues are small, intimate house concerts with a small number of collaborators.

My former teachers include Noreen Silver (principal cello of the Bangor Symphony), Peter Howard (former principal of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra), and Alan Stepansky (former principal of the New York Philharmonic). My chamber coaches have included Seth Knopp, Marian Hahn, Maria Lambros, Benjamin Pasternack, and Michael Kannen, as well as members of the Portland String Quartet.

As a recipient of the Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Scholarship, I graduated from Peabody Conservatory of Music in 2007 with a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance.