Nathan Chan
Nathan Chan is a cellist and online creator who shares performances, humor and life in classical music as @nathanchancello, alongside his work with the Seattle Symphony.
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Latest
Nathan’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus their backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
YouTube
YouTube
Montana Public RadioOverview
- Work
- Cellist, video creator and Assistant Principal Cello of the Seattle Symphony
- Roots
- San Francisco Bay Area
- First steps
- Conducting at three, cello lessons at five
- Studies
- Economics at Columbia University and a Master of Music at Juilliard
- Early exposure
- HBO’s The Music in Me and a Carnegie Hall performance
Mini bio
How it started.
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Nathan copied the conductors on the family’s television with a chopstick. He conducted the San Jose Chamber Orchestra at three and began cello lessons with Irene Sharp at five. His official biography traces that early curiosity through studies at Columbia and Juilliard.
Finding an audience.
HBO’s The Music in Me gave Nathan an early chance to combine performance and storytelling, and led to a Carnegie Hall appearance. He later collaborated with Roberta Flack on her Beatles project. In his VoyageOhio interview, he credits Leonard Bernstein’s television work with helping inspire his own interest in making musical videos.
Making room for everyone.
Nathan began editing films in iMovie and made videos with his college cello ensemble, String Theory. Today, his online work mixes music education, performance and humor. Alongside his solo and chamber appearances, he serves as Assistant Principal Cello of the Seattle Symphony. His official biography reports more than 35 million views across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Creditschronological, newest first
- 2026Gulda’s Cello Concerto with California SymphonyCello soloist, conducted by Donato Cabrera
- 2025The world is chargedCellist in the world premiere with Seattle Pro Musica
- 2025Live from Studio BGuest performer and interviewee
- 2006The Music in MeFeatured young cellist in the HBO documentary
Awards
- Forbes 30 Under 30 Local: SeattleNamed to the 2023 Seattle list.
- Samuel Mayes Memorial Cello AwardRecipient at Tanglewood in 2016.
- Juilliard Cello Concerto CompetitionWon in 2013, performing Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote.
- Davidson FellowshipA 2012 fellow for The Importance of Passion, with a $25,000 scholarship.
Quotes
I recommend first and foremost being yourself and creating content that you yourself would enjoy watching.Nathan Chan, California Symphony interview
Advice for budding creators. Source: https://www.californiasymphony.org/blog/meet-nathan-chan-cellist-tiktok-phenom-prodigy-thats-all-grown-up-now-2526/
Trivia
- His first baton was a chopstick, used while watching conductors on television.
- He studied economics at Columbia as well as music at Juilliard.
- He made some of his favorite college music videos with his cello ensemble, String Theory.
- He collaborated with AI artist Lia Coleman on an NFT combining classical music and machine learning art.
Find Nathan
Follow Nathan for cello performances and a look inside classical music.
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