Celebrating AAPI Heritage & History: Yumi Kendall (Cello ’04)

“The Suzuki Alumni Project is the inevitable culmination, and continuation, of joy for me. Colleagues around the world who have expressed pride—of bold, humble, modest, loud, grateful sorts—in their Suzuki roots have inspired me to harness that collective energy and channel it into a united effort: to celebrate the Suzuki method of music education.” —Yumi Kendall

Acclaimed Curtis alumna Yumi Kendall (’04), assistant principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, inspiring citizen artist, podcaster, pedagogist, and educator began her cello studies at age five, made her recital debut at age seven in Boulder, Colorado, and in 1998, while studying with cellist David Hardy, made her orchestral solo debut with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Prior to her time at Curtis, she was the principal cello for the American Youth Philharmonic from 1996-99, attended the National Orchestra Institute as principal cello and the Summer Institute at the Kennedy Center, won first place in the National Symphony Orchestra Young Soloists’ Competition, and the judges’ commendation award at the Johansen International Competition.

Ms. Kendall entered Curtis in 1999 and studied with the late David Soyer, legendary Guarneri String Quartet cellist, and with Peter Wiley (’74). During her time here at the school, she attended various summer festivals and institutes, including the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Music from Angel Fire, Verbier Festival, Taos School of Music in New Mexico, Encore School for Strings, and the Marlboro Festival. Immediately following her graduation from Curtis, she was invited to join the Philadelphia Orchestra in September of 2004, and in 2013, she received the C. Hartman Kuhn Award, given annually to “the member of The Philadelphia Orchestra who has shown ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the standards and the reputation,” of the ensemble.

Learn more about Yumi Kendall, assistant principal cello of the Philadelphia Orchestra. 

Expanding her educational growth beyond the stage, Ms. Kendall attended the University of Pennsylvania and received a master’s in applied positive psychology (MAPP) in 2017. Since that moment, she has appeared as a guest presenter and facilitator for a board retreat of the Suzuki Association of the Americas; the Radnor-based management consulting firm CRA, Inc.; and has been a keynote speaker at the 2019 inaugural Suzuki Convention of the Americas in Mexico.

Beyond her busy orchestral, chamber, and solo performance schedule, Ms. Kendall maintains a private teaching studio, is a guest instructor at Curtis, and has regularly served on the faculties of the National Orchestral Institute and the New York State School for Orchestral Studies, as well as the Brevard Music Center and the Miami Summer Music Festival.

She also sits on the boards of Project 440 and Wildflower Composers and celebrates Suzuki education worldwide as the founder of the Suzuki Alumni Project. In searching for additional avenues to connect with new audiences across the globe, Ms. Kendall also joined forces with longtime friend, colleague, and Curtis alumnus Joseph Conyers (Double Bass ’04) in 2023 to launch a new podcast, Tacet No More.

Ms. Kendall comes from a musical family, including her violinist brother Nick Kendall (’01)—a member of the GRAMMY Award-winning trio Time for Three—and her grandfather, violinist pedagogue John Kendall, who introduced Suzuki education to the United States and trained teachers from around the world.

Read an article in the fall 2023 issue of Curtis’s Overtones magazine about Ms. Kendall’s podcast with Joseph Conyers, Tacet No More, and visit their official website HERE.

Curtis is thrilled to welcome Yumi Kendall back to her alma mater, on May 11, 2024, to deliver the alumni welcome during the school’s 91st commencement ceremony.

Watch a Suzuki Association of the Americas archival video of Ms. Kendall and her brother Nick discussing their upbringing as Suzuki siblings.

Please visit the Curtis Institute of Music Open Archives and Recitals (CIMOAR). Learn more about Curtis’s library and archives HERE.

Photo Credits: 1, 2, 6.) Portraits of Ms. Kendall by Jessica Griffin. 3.) A young Yumi Kendall playing the cello with one of her primary Suzuki teachers; courtesy of the Suzuki Alumni Project. 4.) Yumi Kendall at her brother Nick Kendall’s 2001 commencement at Curtis Institute of Music; courtesy of the Curtis Archives. 5.) Ms. Kendall and Joseph Conyers promotional photo for their podcast Tacet No More; Pete Checchia.