Christopher Ferrer explores sound through performances on acoustic, amplified, and electric cello in many styles and genres. He is principal cellist of Camerata Chicago as well as a member of Lakeshore Rush and the FM Cello & Piano Duo– where he showcases classical sonatas and music by living composers alongside pianist Cacie Miller.
Gramophone describes Lakeshore Rush’s work as “exquisitely rendered.” A founding member of the ensemble, he has presented new music and classical standards for eleven seasons. Highlights include a residency at Avaloch Farms Music Institute, premieres and new commissions by Larry Axelrod, Laura Schwendinger, Beth Bradfish, and Amos Gillespie– as well as performances for Merit School of Music, Thirsty Ears, Ear Taxi, the Chicago Composers’ Consortium, New Music Chicago, and the George Crumb festival at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Christopher is currently seeking music of his home region of Illinois– including through a direct exploration of the Illinois River waterway. His 2025 project set sights on traveling from Chicago to St. Louis by canoe with cello and recording equipment.
With a strength in variety of string techniques, Mr Ferrer enjoys performing with bandmates of Tango with Winnie in live-concert and educational events. He especially enjoys uniting cello with guitar: sometimes in collaboration with songwriter La Paula Herrera as well as with Jim Wilson in Wilson Ferrer. You can also find him performing music of the Beatles with Phil Angotti and Friends, featuring violin & cello duo The Folding Chairs with Emily Nash.
Christopher began his contemporary classical music journey through work with new music collective Anaphora. As an original member of chamber ensemble Picosa, he worked closely with composers Shulamit Ran, Augusta Read Thomas, Jim Gaynor, and Jonathon Kirk in performances of new compositions and arrangements. He has also appeared with Fulcrum Point– as well in concert and new music recordings with Chicago Sinfonietta and New Millennium Orchestra. Studio sessions with composer Mike Kramer for some of his first productions deeply shaped an interest in commercial music and recording technology. He has since recorded for television and film– including Seth Boustead’s score for Dreaming Grand Avenue and Spike Lee’s Chiraq.
Born in Valencia, Venezuela, Christopher began studying cello through the Community School for the Arts in Wheaton, IL at the age of seven and was later a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Hall School Baroque Festival Orchestra. He went on to attend the Royal College of Music in London and Northern Illinois University. His teachers have included Ann Griffin, John Sharp, Cheng-Hou Lee, and Alexander Boyarsky. He also received chamber music lessons and coachings from Julian Jacobsen, Janet Hilton, Warren Jones, Lewis Kaplan, Yehuda Hanani, Alastair Blayden, and Mathias Tacke.