Freya Seeburger Cellist from San Jose, CA

Since moving to California in 2010, cellist Freya Seeburger "Cellista" has been an active performer in both classical ensembles and rock bands. She has recorded and performed with independent rock, hip hop, and classical groups including Van Dyke Parks, the Awesöme Orchestra Collective, Grammy nominated artist Tanya Donelly, and The Coup (as a member of Classical Revolution). As a solo cellist and the artistic director of the arts-based company Juxtapositions, Freya's penchant for performing music in unconventional spaces, and her devotion to collaborating with artists across mediums has led her to create unique performances that incorporate elements of classical music, improvisation, and visual art. Cellista has backed singer/songwriter Maryam Qudus of Doe Eye, playing on San Francisco's Live 105 premier of Qudus' album “Run, Run, Run,” produced by SJ mover-and-shaker Steve Murr. In May 2012, Cellista played for Doe Eye at the Joint in Las Vegas, when Doe Eye was selected as a competitor in Billboard's Battle of the Bands. Freya recorded with producer John Vanderslice alongside the Magik*Magik Orchestra. In 2014, she performed alongside Grammy-nominated artist, Tanya Donelly, on Donelly's West Coast tour with Throwing Muses, and that same summer joined Classical Revolution at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, for a multi-genre concert that featured Bay area hip hop legends, "The Coup." She is also the cello ambassador for the Awesome Orchestra Collective, an organization she holds near and dear to her heart. Freya studied with renowned cellist Judith Glyde, a founding member of the Manhattan String Quartet and cello faculty at CU-Boulder. In college, Freya sat principal chair of her college orchestra at Metropolitan State College of Denver under the direction of William Morris and Adam Flatt. She studied with Jurgen de Lemos, then principal cellist of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and James Todd, cello faculty at M.S.C.D. While living in France for four years she was a student of Gérard Leclerc, noted performer and past student of Jacqueline du Pré. She also participated during that time in the Rome Festival Opera. Freya began full time coursework at SFSU in Fall of 2013 for her master's degree in music. Her musicological research writing, focused on interdisciplinary topics in music, including French composer Olivier Messiaen's "Quatuor pour la fin du Temps," earned her a panelist position at the 4th annual College of Liberal Arts Graduate Student Symposium (CLAGS) at the University of Nevada, Reno, as well as SFSU's "Otey" award for research writing. In April of 2015, she will be presenting her paper, "The End of Time," at the University of Calgary's graduate music symposium. She is also a contributing writer for San Jose's Content magazine. She studies with cellist Jennifer Culp (SFCM, and the Kronos Quartet), and the Alexander String Quartet.