Premiered on PBS
on October 7, 2004
Check your local listings
for rebroadcasts.

Gabrielle Athayde

Gabrielle Athayde is a young cellist and bass guitarist from Orinda, California. She began playing the cello when she was four years old. After a brief stint with the violin, she tried the cello and fell in love with the low notes.

Gabrielle comes from a family of accomplished musicians. Her parents are music teachers, her older sister Julie is a violinist, her younger brother Kyle plays the vibraphone, and her younger sister Eliana plays the string bass. The family plays together at home and sometimes for professional engagements.

In high school, Gabrielle was the principal cellist for the highly acclaimed San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO). "Her playing is wonderful. She is an incredibly natural player: she lives and breathes it," said Edwin Atwater, the conductor of the SFSYO.

When Gabrielle was ten, she also started playing bass guitar for the school jazz band. Later in high school, she played bass and wrote songs for different rock bands. "Playing bass and playing rock is a huge adrenaline rush," says Gabrielle.

Since the taping of the program, Gabrielle spent a year studying with cellist Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She is currently studying with Darrett Adkins at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio.

"At the time of the filming I had never tried a cross-cultural approach to music. Since 'Soundmix,' I went away to school and jumped into all different kinds of music with the cello," says Gabrielle.

San Francisco Youth Symphony Orchestra

There are accomplished youth symphony orchestras in major and small cities throughout the United States. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) is among the most well known. Edwin Outwater conducts the orchestra, and its young musicians (ages 12-20) receive coaching from members of the San Francisco Symphony. The SFYSO has worked with many well-known artists including Michael Tilson Thomas, Yo Yo Ma, Sarah Chang, and Midori. When Gabrielle Athayde was the principal cellist in the SFSYO, she said, "It's amazing. I can't believe that I'm playing with kids sometimes."

The Athayde Family

Find out more about all the musicians in Gabrielle Athayde's family. Check out the web article "Home Is Where the Music Is," a story about the musical life of the Athaydes.