HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017532.jpg

Michael Glen Block (born May 25, 1982) is an American cellist, composer, arranger, and solo artist hailed as “the ideal musician of the twenty-first century” by cultural icon Yo-Yo Ma. Mike Block has worked with Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Lenny Kravitz, Shakira, The National, Joe Zawinul, Alison Krauss, Rachel Barton Pine, Mark O’Connor, and other notable musicians. Block currently plays with the Silk Road Ensemble. He has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brian, National Public Radio’s St. Paul Sunday, Regis and Kelly, VH1, the Disney Channel, WNBC-TV with Chuck Scarborough, and the CBS Early Show. Block is most famous for playing second cello alongside Yo-Yo Ma. He performed in Mark O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz trio for three years. His performances have been described as “vital, rich-hued solo playing” by the New York Times, and “a true artist ... a sight to behold” by the Salt Lake City Desert News. Mike Block’s Cello Concerto, Movement 1 was completed in 2009. Mr. Block’s classical compositions have been performed at the Bremen MusikFest, Tribeca New Music Festival, the Kimmel Center series “Fresh Ink,” and the MATA Festival, at which he performed as soloist in his own Cello Concerto in 2009. His non-classical writing has been featured at festivals such as Rockygrass, Delfest, Celtic Connections, and Wintergrass. Mike Block has served as musical director to cellist Yo-Yo Ma, singer Bobby McFerrin, ballet star Damien Woetzel, jookin dancer Lil’ Buck, actor/comedian Bill Irwin, jazz trumpeter Marcus Printup, world-music group The Silk Road Ensemble, and classical orchestra The Knights. A frequent guest lecturer, Mr. Block has presented at Stanford University, Princeton University, Harvard University, New York University, Berklee College of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Belmont University, Southern Methodist University, Sam Houston State University, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and University of Arkansas. In 2006, he received Suzuki method certification in music education from the New York City- based School for Strings, under Pamela Devenport. In 2009 Mike founded The Mike Block String Camp, which takes place in multiple locations each summer. The camp’s goal is to empower musicians of all ages/ levels to perform, improvise, compose, and arrange their own music - all by ear. The first location debuted in 2010 in Vero Beach, Florida, followed in 2011 with Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Saline, Michigan in 2012. The world-class faculty has included Darol Anger, Hanneke Cassel, Joe Craven, Rushad Eggleston, Brittany Haas, Natalie Haas, Jeremy Kittel, Clay Ross, Kimber Ludiker, Jefferson Hamer, Victor Lin, Emy Phelps, and Lauren Rioux. Since 2009, Mike has been the Lead Teaching Artist for Silk Road Connect, a partnership between the Silk Road Project and schools in New York City and Boston areas. The Mike Block Band presents an exciting and genre-bending combination of rock, classical, jazz, and folk music through original songs and instrumental compositions, featuring quirky yet honest lyrics, and a variety of musical influences. Mike Block has also worked with notable musicians such as Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall, Zakir Hussain, My Brightest Diamond, Bon Iver, Tim O’Brien, Marcel Khaliffe, Goran Bregovic, Kayhan Kalhor and Bruce Molsky. MICHAEL GLEN BLOCK Triborough Trio—Featuring Mike Block (cello), Hans Holzen (guitar), and Kyle Kegerreis (bass), the trio’s mission is to put their personal spin on traditional and contemporary music from around the world in well-crafted and creative arrangements. Mike is also the Artistic Director and host of GALA Brooklyn: “Global Art - Local Art:”, a Music Festival in Brooklyn featuring a diverse array of musicians and artists in unique collaborations. Notable guests include Anthony Mcgill (Metropolitan Opera), Aoife O’ Donovan (singer for Crooked Still), Aaron Dugan (guitarist for Matisyahu), Multi-genre violinist/ composer Todd Reynolds, Grammy-Nominated classical artists Anastasia Khitruk (violin), and the Enso Quartet, Marcus Printup from Jazz at Lincoln Center, and jazz saxophonist Seamus Blake, and singer-songwriter Amy Correia. Performed on WNYC’s Soundcheck with John Schaefer. Mike has also worked with director Yaron Zilberman as a Music Consultant for “A Late Quartet”, a 2011 movie starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken. On April 4, 2009, Mike Block was struck by a NYC Taxi while walking at the corner of W8sth St. and West End Ave, in Manhattan. Injuries included broken rib, jaw, cheek, nose, and he lost nine teeth. His reconstruction required multiple surgeries, and his missing teeth were eventually restored on February 15, 2012. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017532