Bjorn Ranheim

Violoncellos

Cellist Bjorn Ranheim was appointed to the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in September 2005, holds the principal chair of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, CO and is a member of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Idaho. Prior to these appointments, Mr. Ranheim served as associate principal cellist of the Fort Worth Symphony. He has performed and toured with the orchestras of Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Baltimore; collaborating with Michael Tilson Thomas, David Robertson, Robert Spano, Bernard Labadie and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Mr. Ranheim has held principal and assistant principal cello positions with the New World Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, Aspen Festival Orchestra and, at the invitation of the music director, Quebec City’s critically acclaimed Le Violons du Roy.

Bjorn Ranheim made his concerto debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in 1996 as winner of the Young Peoples Symphony Concert Association Competition and has since appeared as soloist on multiple occasions with the Colorado Music Festival, New World Symphony and the National Repertory Orchestra.

Actively performing in chamber music, Bjorn Ranheim has toured extensively in the United States, Europe and Central America, with performances at Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Gardner Museum, El Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. He has participated in the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Seminar, Costa Rica International Chamber Music Festival, Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, Audubon Quartet Seminar, and has been a frequent guest artist at the National Flute Association Convention. Mr. Ranheim is highly visible throughout the St. Louis region presenting recitals, chamber music performances, educational and outreach concerts and is a member of the Eliot Piano Trio with St. Louis Symphony concertmaster, David Halen and pianist, Seth Carlin.

A committed advocate of contemporary music, Ranheim has performed world premiere performances of works by Stephen Paulus, Paul Schoenfield, Steven Heitzig and William Beckstrand.

Bjorn Ranheim received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Stephen Geber, retired principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra.