Nathan Cox is a cellist, pianist, arranger, and teacher. For him, music is a pursuit of meaning, a source of challenge and fulfillment, a quest for connection to audiences and culture, and a means of emotional expression more powerful than language.
Nathan grew up in a musical home in southern California, holding his mother's violin like a cello and screeching away on a 16th-size violin as soon as he was big enough for one. He started formal music lessons on the piano at age 6, cello at age 7, and organ at age 12. At 13, he decided to concentrate mostly on the cello and began lessons with Joseph Mendoes at the Colburn Community School for Performing Arts; his incredible mother drove him nearly two hours each way every week to get there.
At age 16, he enrolled at Brigham Young University on full music and academic scholarships, studying with Dr. Michelle Kesler. While there, he won the concerto competition twice, accompanied his fellow cello students on the piano, played piano for ballet classes, and, with the coaching of Dr. Scott Holden, formed the Aspen Grove Piano Trio with Caroline and Tanner Jorden, with whom he won the 2024 MTNA National Chamber Music Competition, and with whom he continues to perform. He deferred for volunteer work in Armenia from 2019-2021 and speaks fluent Armenian. He graduated cum laude in 2023.
At age 16, he enrolled at Brigham Young University on full music and academic scholarships, studying with Dr. Michelle Kesler. While there, he won the concerto competition twice, accompanied his fellow cello students on the piano, played piano for ballet classes, and, with the coaching of Dr. Scott Holden, formed the Aspen Grove Piano Trio with Caroline and Tanner Jorden, with whom he won the 2024 MTNA National Chamber Music Competition, and with whom he continues to perform. He deferred for volunteer work in Armenia from 2019-2021 and speaks fluent Armenian. He graduated cum laude in 2023.
In 2024, Nathan enrolled at The Juilliard School as a recipient of the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship and the Miriam Malach and Juilliard scholarships. Zvi Plesser and Zlatomir Fung were his transformative mentors, with secondary lessons on baroque cello from Phoebe Carrai. His chamber music coaches were Merry Peckham, Stella Chen, Curtis Macomber, and Laurie Carney. He graduated in 2026 with a Masters in cello performance.
As a soloist, Nathan has performed the Dvorak and Elgar cello concertos with orchestras, as well as Popper's Hungarian Rhapsody and Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. His performances stand out for their raw emotional power and artistic intention. He has won 1st prize at the 2025 Radda Rise International Competition, the 2024 MTNA National Young Artist Solo String competition, the 2023 Aspen Music Festival Low Strings Concerto Competition, and the 2022 Brimhall Cello and Utah ASTA Solo competitions, as well as 3rd Prize at the 2025 LISMA International Music Competition, Finalist at the 2024 Juilliard Concerto Competition and the 2022 Harrell Dungey International Cello Loan Competition, and advanced to the second live round of the 2025 Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China.
As a soloist, Nathan has performed the Dvorak and Elgar cello concertos with orchestras, as well as Popper's Hungarian Rhapsody and Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. His performances stand out for their raw emotional power and artistic intention. He has won 1st prize at the 2025 Radda Rise International Competition, the 2024 MTNA National Young Artist Solo String competition, the 2023 Aspen Music Festival Low Strings Concerto Competition, and the 2022 Brimhall Cello and Utah ASTA Solo competitions, as well as 3rd Prize at the 2025 LISMA International Music Competition, Finalist at the 2024 Juilliard Concerto Competition and the 2022 Harrell Dungey International Cello Loan Competition, and advanced to the second live round of the 2025 Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China.
As an orchestral cellist, he was principal of the Juilliard Orchestra for the duration of his degree. He has additionally been principal of the conductorless Juilliard Chamber Orchestra, the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra, the BYU Philharmonic, and the BYU Baroque Ensemble. He is a substitute with the Albany and Utah Symphonies and the Symphony in C in Camden, NJ.
On full scholarship, Nathan has attended the 2022 Emerald Coast Chamber Festival where his mentors included Brinton Smith, the 2023 Aspen Music Festival and School where he studied with Richard Aaron and Darrett Adkins, the 2024 Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival where his coaches included Joel and Gwen Krosnick, David Bowlin, Giles Vonsattel, and Ronald Copes, and the 2026 Pacific Music Festival.
On full scholarship, Nathan has attended the 2022 Emerald Coast Chamber Festival where his mentors included Brinton Smith, the 2023 Aspen Music Festival and School where he studied with Richard Aaron and Darrett Adkins, the 2024 Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival where his coaches included Joel and Gwen Krosnick, David Bowlin, Giles Vonsattel, and Ronald Copes, and the 2026 Pacific Music Festival.
Nathan's performance opportunities have taken him to venues like Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Segerstrom Concert Hall in California, Strathmore Concert Hall in Maryland, the Beijing and Harbin Conservatories in China, as well as churches, nursing homes, community centers, and sidewalks across America—wherever the ache is felt for the ineffable beauty, cultural heritage, and contact between human souls which music provides.
Nathan lives in Philadelphia with his brilliant and beautiful wife Aurora and their guinea pig Oat.
Nathan lives in Philadelphia with his brilliant and beautiful wife Aurora and their guinea pig Oat.
Connect:
© Nathan Cox 2026