About

Federico Strand Ramirez is a San Francisco-based cellist. He began his cello studies at the age of 11 in his public middle school and later began private instruction at the age of 14. He currently works as cellist for the Berkeley Ballet Theater and is a founding member of the Sixth Station Trio, which performs regularly at San Francisco’s historic Grace Cathedral.

As cellist of the Sixth Station Trio, Federico has performed at Grace Cathedral, Old First Concerts, San Francisco’s Cherry Blossom Festival, and SF Botanical Garden’s Flower Piano Festival. His trio has been featured on KTVU Channel 2 News, The Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon, SF Gate, San Francisco Chronicle, and SF Classical Voice.

Federico is also a passionate teacher, holding a private studio and regularly coaching cellists of the Golden Gate Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He also works with students at Music Mission SF, and teaches cello class within the San Francisco Symphony’s Mentors in Music program.

He has performed in venues along Central Europe such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine, Amsterdam Concertgebow, Ingolstadt Festival Auditorium and Prague Smetana Hall. In the United States, he has performed at such venues as Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, The DiMenna Center, House of the Redeemer, Bohemian National Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

As an orchestral musician, Federico has performed with the Sacramento Philharmonic, Ensemble Mik Nawooj, Berkeley Playhouse, and Teatro Mistral to name a few. He performed in a new orchestral work written by Ambrose Akinmusire at SFJAZZ, performing alongside Ambrose, and has performed as principal cello of the SFCM Orchestra and Festival Napa Valley, as well as associate principal cello of the Mannes Orchestra.

Federico is an avid chamber musician and has had the honor of performing with renowned artists such as San Francisco Ballet concertmaster Cordula Merks and piano soloist Lara Downes. He participated in the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Chamber Music Mentorship Program, with performances at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music and recorded for Lisa Bielawa’s “Broadcast From Home” piece during the COVID-19 lockdown. The work was featured on “Works and Process at the Guggenheim” and was just recently added to the permanent collection of The Library of Congress.

He has attended summer festivals such as Festival Napa Valley’s Blackburn Music Academy, YellowBarn Young Artists Program, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Mendocino Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, Decoda Chamber Music Festival, Cincinnati Young Artists, and the Borromeo Music Festival masterclass series.

Federico has had the opportunity to be mentored by acclaimed artists in masterclasses, such as Gil Kalish, Robert deMaine, Ben Hong, Natasha Brofsky, Kim Kashkashian, Jake Heggie, Richard Aaron, Anssi Karttunen, Darrett Adkins, and Matt Haimovitz.

Federico completed his Master of Music degree at the Mannes School of Music in New York City, and his Bachelor of Music degree and Advanced Certificate Diploma at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Federico’s major teachers include Bonnie Hampton, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Fred Sherry, Amos Yang, and Louella Hasbun.