James Waldo

A native of Minnesota, cellist James Waldo leads a musical career marked by diversity and adventure. James performs regularly around the U.S. with his wife—pianist Alyona Aksyonova—as A.W.Duo (awduo.com), and the two completed their first tour of China in 2017. Formerly based in New York City, the duo performed in many of the city’s finest venues, including Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A specialist on baroque cello and viola da gamba, Waldo has collaborated with violinist Monica Huggett and lutenist Ron MacFarlane, and will debut with the Madison Bach Musicians in fall 2018. Waldo is a co-founder of Listen Closely, (listenclose.ly) an uptown Manhattan chamber music collective now in its sixth season. A regular grant-recipient from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the organization has presented over fifty community concerts in uptown Manhattan. Waldo serves as principal cellist of the award-winning Cecilia Chorus of New York, performing in Carnegie Hall each winter and spring. Having relocated with his wife and daughter to Madison, WI in fall of 2017, Waldo is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree under the tutelage of Uri Vardi at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Mead Witter School of Music. He received his Master of Music and Artist Diploma with Timothy Eddy at Mannes College, where he was recipient of the Gregory Award for Excellence in Performance.