David Ellis was raised in Vermont, studied at the New England Conservatory in
Boston, and graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he was a
student of David Soyer, cellist of the Guarneri String Quartet. He has worked with
Janos Starker, André Navara, and Maurice Gendron among others.
From 1982 to 1987, Mr. Ellis played in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under
conductor Leonard Slatkin, touring throughout the United States and Far East. In 1988
he was appointed co-principal cellist of the chamber orchestra I Musici de Montreal and
in1989 became a founding member of the Alcan Quartet.
In conjunction with his responsibilities in the quartet, Mr. Ellis is principal
cellist of the Orchestre Symphonique de Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean. Since 1997 he has held
the position of professor of cello at the Quebec Conservatory of Music in Chicoutimi,
and been a visiting Professor of Chamber Music at the University of Montreal. He given
masterclasses throughout Québec and in Central America. As a member of the Alcan
Quartet he plays regularly in concert throughout Canada, the United States and
Europe.
