Cellist Darrett Adkins belongs to an exciting new generation of American musicians who are redefining the concert experience. His appetite for bridging established tradition and the avant-garde enables him to explore repertoire in almost every genre, from the classical canon to the contemporary frontier. Adkins gave the first New York performance of Luciano Berio’s Sequenza XIV, which he has since recorded for Naxos’ complete Sequenzas collection. Recent presentations of his Hypersuite, a hybrid program combining solo Bach works with new works inspired by them, have riveted both listeners and critics. The press has described Adkins’ performances as “stunning,” “intensely involving,” “heroic,” and “fiery;” his six-hour premiere performance of Morton Feldman’s monumental Quartet II, with the Flux quartet, was described by New Yorker music critic Alex Ross as “a disorienting, transfixing experience that repeatedly approached and touched the sublime."

Adkins has performed both standard and contemporary concerti with orchestras in Asia and North and South America, among them the Tokyo Philharmonic, Tochio Soloisten, Suwon Philharmonic, Seoul’s Prime Orchestra, Orcheste National de UFF in Rio de Janeiro, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the New Hampshire and North Carolina Symphony Orchestras. His premiere performances have included Donatoni’s cello concerto and Birtwistle’s Meridian (Tanglewood), Rolf Wallin’s concerto Grund (Carnegie’s Zankel Hall), and Jeffrey Mumford’s Cello Concerto (Cleveland Chamber Symphony).

In demand as a chamber performer, Adkins performs regularly on prominent concert series. From 1997 until 2002, he was a member of the Flux string quartet known for its dedication to cutting-edge music. He has appeared in major festivals including Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Ojai, Melbourne, Aspen, and Tanglewood. Since 1998, Adkins has been a member of Zephyr, featuring flutist Lady Jeanne Galway and pianist Jonathan Feldman. The trio tours regularly in the U.S. and gave the world-premiere performance of Lowell Lieberman’s Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano, Op. 83.

Adkins has recorded for the Mode, SONY/BMG, Naxos, RCA, Tzadik, Koch, MMC, Engine Company, and CRI labels. Combining passionate teaching with performing, Adkins is a faculty member of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the Juilliard School, and Aspen Music Festival. He has earned degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, Rice University, and the Juilliard School. He is originally from Tacoma, Washington, and now lives in Westlake, Ohio, with his wife Ingrid and their four children.