Livingston Cheney

Cellist Livingston Cheney performs throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Poland as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. Livi has performed as a guest artist at the National Cello Institute in California, the Intermountain Suzuki String Institute, the Chicago Suzuki Institute, the National Arts Centre of Canada, the Gore Bay Museum, the Ottawa Pops Orchestra, the Festival Los Cedros in Mexico City, and the Sinfonietta Polonia in Poland. In 2021, Livi was featured on National Public Radio.

Born to two Suzuki cello teachers, Carey and Elliott Cheney, Livi grew up a Suzuki student, beginning to play cello at the age of 3. He received his Suzuki teacher training in all 10 volumes by the age of 20, one the youngest cellists ever to do so. Livi has completed Suzuki training with the renowned teachers David Evenchick, Jean Dexter, Pamela Devenport, Carey Cheney, and Avi Friedlander. Livi is continuously repeating teacher training to get the insights of other teachers as well.

Livi has also studied performance with acclaimed cellists Colin Carr, Philippe Muller, Lawrence Lesser, and Eric Kim. Additionally, Livi has his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in cello performance from University of Ottawa, Canada with Paul Marleyn and University of Tennessee, Knoxville with Dr. Wesley Baldwin respectively.

Livi is an enthusiast for new music and crossover into other genres, and has collaborated in electroacoustic ensemble with DJ Spooky in a lecture performance at the University of Tennessee and studied jazz with bass professor Jon Hamar, also at UTK. He also has experience with music composition and enjoys to teach it.

Livi loves to explore nature and paint. Bob Ross is a great influence on his teaching style.