Canellakis–Brown Duo

Nicholas Cannellakis, Cello

Nicholas Canellakis is one of today’s most sought-after and innovative cellists, blending traditional classical performance with boundary-pushing creative ventures. He performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. Cannellakis is also a composer/arranger, artistic curator, teacher, and filmmaker, with comedic digital content that has reached millions of views worldwide.

A prominent artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Cannelakis appears regularly in Alice Tully Hall and on international tours. As Artistic Director of Chamber Music Sedona in Arizona, he has revitalized the organization with dynamic programming, education initiatives, and community engagement.

Canellakis also tours extensively in recital throughout the U.S. with his longtime duo collaborator, pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown, with recent appearances in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Four Arts in Palm Beach, New Orleans Friends of Chamber Music, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and Wolf Trap near Washington D.C.

Equally active beyond the concert stage, Canellakis is an accomplished filmmaker, actor, and comedian. His short films My New Cello and the award-winning Thin Walls were screened at major film festivals and can be streamed online, while his comedic shorts and creative content have amassed over 20 million views across digital platforms. His unique ability to merge humor, storytelling, and music has made him a distinctive voice in the classical world and beyond. His latest album (b)romance was released on First Hand Records in 2023.

Canellakis was recently appointed to the cello faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, his alma mater.

Michael Stephen Brown, Piano

A 2025 MacDowell Fellow and 2024 Yaddo Artist, composer-pianist Michael Stephen Brown performs recitals and concertos worldwide and is commissioned by leading orchestras, soloists, and chamber music festivals. Winner of the 2026 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award, an Emerging Artist Award from Lincoln Center, and an Avery Fisher Career Grant, he has appeared as soloist with the Seattle, Phoenix, North Carolina, Albany, and Maryland Symphonies, as well as the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra. His recital appearances include Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Louvre, Wigmore Hall, and Beethoven-Haus Bonn.

A frequent artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Brown also tours internationally in a duo with longtime musical partner Nicholas Canellakis.

Brown’s compositions have been commissioned by leading organizations and artists, including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Bridgehampton and Gilmore festivals, the Maryland Symphony, Osmo Vänskä and Erin Keefe, the SPA Trio, soprano Susanna Phillips, and pianists Anne-Marie McDermott, Jerome Lowenthal, Ursula Oppens, Orion Weiss, Adam Golka, and Roman Rabinovich. 

Brown earned dual degrees in piano and composition from the Juilliard School, where he studied with pianists Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald, and composer Samuel Adler. 

Brown also serves as an Artist Ambassador for Creatives Care, an organization helping artists access affordable mental healthcare. He lives in New York City with his two 19th-century Steinways, Octavia and Daria. Known for his engaging commentary on music and his colorful socks, audiences eagerly anticipate both his insights and his unique sense of style.

Guarneri Hall Events: Humor & Harmony