Mike Block

About Mike Block …

Hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as the “ideal musician of the 21st Century”, Mike Block is a pioneering multi-genre cellist, composer, and educator living in New York City.  Mike's personal projects include the Mike Block Band and the Triborough Trio. The Band features Mike as singer, cellist and composer, in a mixture of original songs and instrumentals drawing upon multiple genres. The Trio features unique arrangements of traditional and contemporary music from around the world.  Mike is also the Artistic Director and host of GALA NYC: "Global Art - Local Audience:", a concert series held at the Brooklyn Lyceum featuring a diverse array of musicians and artists in unique collaborations.

While still studying at the Juilliard School, Mike joined Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and shortly thereafter joined Mark O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz Trio, which he played in for over three years. Mike has also toured extensively with Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings, The Absolute Ensemble, Sirius String Quartet, and The Knights.

A dedicated teacher and clinician, in 2009, Mike founded the Mike Block String Camp in Vero Beach, Florida, with a goal of empowering students to compose, arrange, learn, and perform music by ear, with instruction in multiple non-classical styles. Mike is also the Lead Teaching Artist for Silk Road Connect, a program through which Mike joins musicians/dancers/artists from around the world in presentations to public schools in NYC and Boston area. 

Mike has served as Music Director for musicians as diverse as Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrrin (Grammy-winning vocalist), Marcus Printup (trumpeter from Jazz at Lincoln Center), Emalie Savoy (singer at Metropolitan Opera), Lil’ Buck (hip-hop dancer), Damian Woetzel (former Principal at NYC Ballet), Bill Irwin (Comedian/Actor from Sesame Street), the Silk Road Ensemble, and the Knights.  Other musicians Mike has had the honor to perform with include Allison Krauss, Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall, Zakir Hussain, The National, Bon Iver, My Brightest Diamond, Tim O’Brien, Rachel Barton-Pine, Marcel Khaliffe, Goran Bregovic, Michael Doucet, Kayhan Kalhor, Bruce Molsky, Simone Dinnerstein, Dawn Upshaw, Jan Vogler, and he has recorded with Lenny Kravitz and Joe Zawinul, among many others.

Mike has performed on “Late Night with Conan O'Brian”, “Regis and Kelly”, NPR's “St. Paul Sunday Morning”, WNYC's "Soundcheck", WNBC's Chuck Scarborough Show, VH1, The Disney Channel, and the CBS “Early Show”.  Mike also worked closely with the director of the film, "A Late Quartet", as a Music Consultant.  Mike was the subject of a feature article in the Wall Street Journal, and was reviewed by the NY times as having "vital, rich-hued solo playing".

Mike uses D’Addario bowed string products. 

Title picture ©Richard Frank