Cello Power
Cello Power is a community of open honest learning and guidance for cellists. A safe space where we can all continue to learn and encourage each other no matter what your level of expertise. We want to share the fun and joy we feel musically and to show others how to be more efficient/effective in their practice routines. It is important to us that people understand the process of the Popper Études and not just the finished result. Popper can be fun – Let’s do this!
Ailbhe and Katie met when Katie was on trial for a job in the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. They had both studied at Indiana University with the same teacher, had several friends in common and became great friends and colleagues when Katie was awarded the position. Ailbhe performs regularly with the NSO. Katie and Ailbhe started learning and performing repertoire to each other as a practice motivation. This was very successful, others wanted to join in and Cello Power was born.
Katie Tertell
American cellist Katie Tertell resides in the UK and enjoys a rich and varied experience as a freelance artist in Europe and America. She is Artistic Director and Founder of the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival, headquartered in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
A former member of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Katie now curates several of her own projects and collaborations alongside performance and recording work with numerous European symphony and chamber orchestras. She enjoys performing internationally at chamber music festivals and series and working with composers on creative projects and commissions.
Katie is a recipient of several honours and awards including an “Exceptional Talent” visa awarded by Arts Council England and teaches cello at Durham University (UK).
Websites: katietertell.com & appalachianchamber.org
Ailbhe McDonagh
Irish cellist Ailbhe McDonagh is a versatile figure who is active as a composer, folk musician, educator, and author of pedagogical books. She has performed and recorded widely as a cellist, and her compositions are used worldwide on the concert stage and in national music examinations.
Ailbhe began composing early in her life, and as a youth, she won first prizes for composition at Feis Ceoil (the Irish National Music Festival) and the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. She attended the Royal Academy of Music, studying cello, piano, and composition, and when only 16, she saw her composition Anastasia published by the RIAM Local Centre Examinations, which included the work in its Grade 4 examination collection. That became the first of many of Ailbhe’s compositions used in Irish music exams. Ailbhe went on to the Eastman School of Music, studying for a master’s degree in cello performance while also taking composition courses. After giving a debut recital with pianist John O’Conor, who had also been her piano teacher in Dublin, Ailbhe performed as a recitalist and soloist around Europe, Asia and North America including at Carnegie Hall in New York. She also performed for a number of Ireland’s presidents at the Áras an Uachtaráin presidential residence, and she has frequently appeared on Irish television and radio. She performs in a duo with her sister, pianist Orla McDonagh, and she is a member of the Ficino Ensemble and the traditional Irish music group Trio Elatha.
In addition to music for children, Ailbhe has fulfilled chamber music commissions for such venues as the Great Music in Irish Houses Festival, the Hamburg Chamber Music Festival, the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival in the U.S. and the National String Quartet Foundation. She has published two books of piano music for children, called It’s a Piano Thing, Vols. 1 and 2, and also two volumes of It’s a Cello Thing for young cellists. Ailbhe is on the cello faculty at the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin. With several album credits, including an appearance on The Cranberries release, Something Else, Ailbhe released 3 solo albums, ‘It’s a Cello Thing (2012) and ‘Skellig’ (2019) with pianist Orla McDonagh, a cycle of Beethoven’s cello sonatas, on the Steinway & Sons label in 2021, with John O’Conor on piano. Ailbhe performs on a Postacchini cello.
Website: ailbhemcdonagh.com
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