Cellist Nathan Le made his solo debut at age 11 performing Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major with the Russian State Academy Symphony Orchestra in St. Petersburg, Russia. Three years later, he became the first California native to become a Laureate of the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. Nathan is a 16-year-old junior, and currently a student at the Colburn Music Academy where he studies with Mr. Ronald Leonard. He also studies with Ruslan Biryukov.

A Los Angeles native, Nathan has performed with many orchestras in the Los Angeles area, such as the Torrance Symphony, the Bellflower Symphony, the Culver City Symphony, and the San Fernando Valley Symphony, performing the cello concertos of Elgar, Haydn, and Saint-Saëns. The Culver City Examiner noted that he “[performed] flawlessly” and praised his “superb mastery of technique… and artistry.” He has been invited to perform a solo concert at the L’Ermitage Foundation’s Concert Series this coming January.

Nathan has also performed internationally in countries such as Russia, Austria, and Armenia. Most recently, he was invited by the First Lady of Armenia to perform at a music festival commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. In addition, the previous summer, during the final round of the 8th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, he had the opportunity to perform Elgar’s Cello Concerto in the renowned Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the New Russian State Symphony Orchestra.

Nathan’s other competition wins include 1st Prize at the Los Angeles Violoncello Society Competition, 1st Prize at the MTNA VOCE State Competition, 1st Prize in the Rosamonde Laberge Music Foundation Bursary, finalist at the American Protégé International Competition, and finalist at the Mondavi National Young Artists’ Competition. This fall, he participated in the National YoungArts competition and received Honorable Mention. In addition, this past March, he performed on the famed NPR radio show From the Top hosted by Christopher O’Reilly at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at the University of California in Davis, CA.