Leder Masterclass

Sunday, October 19, 2025 - 2:00pm

Location: Cubberley M2 

The Leder masterclasses are admission free to the public. Seats are limited so please reserve your seats in advance.

For nearly four decades, cellist Christopher Costanza has enjoyed a varied and exciting career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. A winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and a recipient of a prestigious Solo Recitalists Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Mr. Costanza has performed to wide critical acclaim throughout the U.S., Canada, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Europe. “Mr. Costanza demonstrated an unaffected, graceful approach to phrasing, a rugged, fearless technique, and, when necessary, and energetic headlong approach,” proclaimed the New York Times. And, from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, praise for a recent performance of Bach’s Unaccompanied Suites: “Costanza revealed himself to be a thoughtful interpreter as well as a technician of no small skill. Tempos were brisk but never rushed, and dynamics were carefully measured. In the Courante, Costanza demonstrated a nice continuity of bowing, while the Sarabande became in his hands an introspective but eloquent song. He used the lightest of touches in the subsequent Minuets and brought an infectious rhythmic impulse to the concluding Gigue.”

Mr. Costanza, a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, actively toured as the cellist of the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) from 2003-2023, performing over one hundred concerts annually throughout North America and in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Beginning with the 2023-2024 concert season, Mr. Costanza began to refocus his performance activities on solo performances and varied chamber music collaborations, including cycles of the complete Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, at Stanford University, and other locations; the complete Britten Cello Suites presented as a cycle; a collaboration with the Stanford Chamber Chorale on tour in Hawaii; solo and chamber music performances at multiple California Bay Area venues; and a concerto tour of France with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Costanza recently has embraced additional opportunities to express his musical passions, through pre-concert lectures, informal concert/lecture presentations, and program note writing.

Mr. Costanza is a full-time Artist in Residence at Stanford University, where he teaches cello and chamber music, serves as the Associate Director of Music for the Stanford Medical Humanities and Arts program, and performs concerts and gives lectures across campus. A strong proponent of contemporary music, Mr. Costanza has worked extensively with the world’s most notable composers, such as John Adams, Jonathan Berger, Osvaldo Golijov, Mark Applebaum, Pierre Boulez, Roberto Sierra, R. Murray Schafer, William Bolcom, and John Corigliano. As a student, he had the honor of studying Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time under the guidance of the composer.  

Mr. Costanza’s discography includes chamber music and solo recordings on the Nonesuch, EMI/Angel, Naxos, Innova, Albany, and Summit labels. In 2006, he received a Grammy nomination for his recording of chamber works for winds and strings by Mozart. In 2012, Mr. Costanza recorded the Six Suites for Solo Cello by J.S. Bach at the beautiful Banff Centre in Canada; those recordings, along with his extensive commentary, are available for streaming on his website, costanzacello.com. In August 2019, the SLSQ released its recording of all six Op. 20 String Quartets of Haydn, and in the summer of 2023, the new recording label Phenotypic released the final two SLSQ recordings: two of the Op. 76 quartets by Haydn, and the Korngold Piano Quintet with pianist Stephen Prutsman. 

Mr. Costanza is frequently heard on radio broadcasts worldwide, including the CBC in Canada, NPR in the United States, and on various European broadcasting networks. He is privileged to perform on an early 18th-century Venetian cello, part of the Harry R. Lange Collection of Musical Instruments and Bows at Stanford. 

In addition to his varied musical interests, Mr. Costanza is an avid runner and hiker. A train enthusiast, he enjoys riding and exploring the passenger railways of the world. He is fascinated by architecture and seeks out innovative architectural offerings in his travels. At home in California, he is passionate about cooking, focusing his attention on new and creative dishes that take advantage of the abundance of remarkable organic local produce. 

costanzacello.com

Masterclass Location: M2