Biography

Currently Artist Affiliate in Cello and Chamber Music at the University of California, Davis, Susan Lamb Cook performs frequently in northern California and her performances have been heard on Capital Public Radio. She holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa where she studied with Charles Wendt, and a degree with honors in performance from the Academy of Music in Vienna. While in Europe, Ms. Lamb Cook studied with Angelica May and participated in and observed master classes by Andre Navarra, Paul Tortelier and Ralph Kirshbaum. As soloist, Susan Lamb Cook has appeared with orchestras in Europe, the United States and the Middle East. She has performed as soloist with the Cairo Symphony in Egypt, the Vienna Bach Soloists, the International Bartok Chamber Orchestra, the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony, the Camellia Symphony, the Paradise Symphony and the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a member of the Gold Coast Trio, Susan Lamb Cook’s performances with violinist Rachel Vetter Huang and pianist Hao Huang have thrilled audiences both in the USA and abroad. Their 2006 performance at the Liszt Concert Hall in Raiding, Austria was featured on Austrian National Television and their 2008 performance in the Hong Tai Concert Hall in Xiamen, China received critical acclaim. The Gold Coast Trio has also appeared at the Haydnfestspiele, Eisenstadt, the Bessie Bartlett Frankel Festival of Chamber Music at Scripps College, and the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Davis. Their concerts have been broadcast on Capital Public Radio and the trio has released a CD of works by Beethoven, Beach, Bernstein and Piazzolla.

As pedagogue, Susan Lamb Cook is highly regarded as both cellist and chamber musician, and her students perform regularly for competitions and public concerts. Her UC Davis 2007 Cello Festival drew cellists from throughout California for a five day celebration of master classes and concerts performed to sold-out halls. She is an active member of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers and the American String Teachers Association, and is co-author of Guide to Teaching Strings by Norman Lamb. In recent years, her focus on music education has taken her to public schools around the region offering performances presentations, and individual classroom visits. Grants from the Rumsey Community Fund and the Swift Fund for the Arts to the Sacramento Youth Symphony supported Susan Lamb Cook’s appearances as artist-in-residence for the Esparto School District. Her work developing the Sacramento Youth Symphony’s Chamber Music Workshop, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2009, has received recognition from the New York based organization Chamber Music America and the Amateur Chamber Music Players, Inc.

Lamb Cook has recorded works by Daniel Kingman for Innova Records and released CDs of works by Rachmaninoff for Cello and Piano and with the Gold Coast Trio, both on the Agnelli label.