Rebirth: A Solo Cello Recital

The Amelia Earhart Playhouse offers a special evening of classical music on Nov. 20.

The wine and cheese evening will feature a solo recital of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Andrea Casrrubios, Reena Esmail and Mark Summer, presented by Patrick Bellah. 

Praised by legendary Polish cellist, Kazimierz Michalik, for his "musical honesty," Dr. Patrick Bellah has made it a priority in performance to connect with his audiences in a memorable and genuine fashion. He is a graduate of the Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University, the University of Arkansas, and James Madison University, where he completed his doctorate in cello performance. He has performed nationally within the United States, and internationally as a solo recitalist at the Kołobrzeg International Music Festival in Kołobrzeg, Poland. As a chamber musician, Dr. Bellah has performed with a wide variety of ensembles, most notably with the Northwest Arkansas String Quartet, which was featured on Public Radio International's Performance Today during his tenure as cellist with the group. He was most recently cellist of the Shepherd Quartet, which was named as a preferred performing artist at the historic estate of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

Dr. Bellah has also enjoyed a busy life as an orchestral cellist, having performed with numerous ensembles throughout the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia, and briefly served as acting principal cellist of the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra. During his orchestral career, he has shared the stage with soloists such as Alexander Markov, Vadim Gluzman, Cicely Parnas, Zuil Bailey, and many others.

Also active as a music educator, Dr. Bellah formerly taught as Adjunct Professor of Cello at John Brown University and as Instructor of Cello at Academy of the Arts in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In the Spring of 2017, he collaborated with the critically-acclaimed Harlem Quartet on their music outreach program in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. He currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Cello at Eastern Mennonite University, and as Instructor of Cello at EMU's preparatory music academy.

Dr. Bellah currently plays on a cello made by the late Wayne Burak in 2015, which was modeled closely on the work of Antonio Stradivari.