Letter from Professor Pae
Dear Cellist,
Every young musician, no matter one's background or level of talent, needs skillful instruction and supportive mentorship to become a complete musician. The path to an enriching career in the performing arts and music education is rarely a linear one and our experience is a truly collective endeavor between a musician and their community, a fabric that becomes richer and more intricate over a lifetime.
Working with a mentor who recognizes your potential and encourages you to realize the qualities that you have yet to identify in yourself can be a transformative experience. Throughout my 30+ year career as a soloist, chamber musician, and arts advocate, I have had many important teachers who shared their expertise, provided invaluable systems of support, and helped me navigate the most pivotal moments of my life. Next to traveling and performing for audiences around the world, I find no greater joy than mentoring the next generation of young artists.
Becoming a seasoned musician requires many skill sets:
- a strong foundation in three essential areas—aural, technical, and artistic
- thorough knowledge of the musical and historical literature
- an unbridled curiosity, resourcefulness, and resilience
- the ability to identify and work through challenges of all shapes and sizes
- the ability to communicate effectively with your peers and audience
- financial literacy and skills to manage creative projects
- to think outside of the boundaries set forth by our profession and push them further
- perhaps most importantly, to use music in impactful ways to enhance and reflect the communities around us
I am interested in the art of learning and I am committed to meeting you where you are and showing you how to develop your own process.
I invite you to join me at EMU CELLO at Eastern Michigan University. Come visit us, meet your future peers, and become part of this wonderful musical family!
—Prof. Deborah Pae
Prof. Deborah Pae
Prof. Deborah Pae
Biography
Praised by critics for her “extraordinary musicianship" (San Diego Union Tribune) and “magical” playing (Cleveland Classical), Korean-American cellist DEBORAH PAE has received international acclaim for her powerful performances and devotion to the arts.
Ms. Pae emerged onto the international stage in 2003, making her debut at the 45th GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden and the Recording Academy’s Seventh Annual Salute to Classical Music honoring the late Mstislav Rostropovich. Shortly thereafter, in 2005, she gave her European recital debut at the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Over the span of 25 years, Ms. Pae has enjoyed an award-winning career as a soloist and chamber musician whose performances at major festivals and concert series throughout North America, Europe, and Asia have garnered critical acclaim. She has been a featured artist at the Marlboro, Ravinia, and Prussia Cove festivals and performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall in London, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Palais des Beaux-Art in Brussels, and the Berliner Philharmonie. Her performances have been augmented by numerous radio and television broadcasts and recordings for ECM, New World, TYXarts, Bridge, and Outhere Records.
Deborah Pae is the cellist of two award-winning ensembles: the FORMOSA QUARTET, recipients of the First Prize and Amadeus Prize at the 2006 International London Quartet Competition, and the NAMIROVSKY-LARK-PAE TRIO, winners of the 2020 German Critics' Prize “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik” in the category of chamber music, one of Europe’s most prestigious honors, for their debut album Masterpieces Among Peers: Trios by Frank Bridge and Johannes Brahms. Their album, particularly their performance of Brahms’ Trio in B major has been described as “a rendition that can actually stand comparison with some of the legendary recordings of the past, such as those by Heifetz, Feuermann and Rubinstein and Szigeti, Fournier and Schnabel” and was named by the German magazine, Fono Forum, as one of the 5 Best Albums of 2020.
Ms. Pae has received degrees from the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, and the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Belgium. She is committed to mentoring the next generation of young artists. She is Associate Professor of Cello at Eastern Michigan University where she is a recipient of the 2021 Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty Award, the highest honor Eastern Michigan University presents to an individual faculty member. Ms. Pae is on the faculty at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and Texas Music Festival, and formerly taught at the Formosa Chamber Music Festival, Taipei Music Academy & Festival, and the Perlman Music Program. Her mentors have included cellists Gary Hoffman, Laurence Lesser, Joel Krosnick, André Emelianoff, and Nellis Delay; violist Kim Kashkashian, and violinist Itzhak Perlman.
Arts advocacy is an important part of Deborah Pae’s musical life. She serves on the Recording Academy® Chicago Chapter Board and has worked closely with MusiCares, a non-profit that provides a safety net of critical health and welfare services to the music community. She also works with young professionals and educational institutions throughout the country giving instrumental masterclasses and workshops on career development, financial literacy, and team building.
Ms. Pae travels and performs with her trusty companion, a Vincenzo Postiglione cello (c. 1885) from Naples, Italy.
For more information, visit Prof. Pae's faculty page.