Conservatorium van Amsterdam
Ella van Poucke, born in Amsterdam, has established herself as one of the leading cellists of her generation. Praised for her musical integrity, flawless instrumental abilities, as well as her performing presence and intensity, the Dutch cellist belongs to the top rank of today’s generation of cellists.
Ella made her debut at the Concertgebouw at just ten years old. Since then, she has performed in all the major concert halls of the Netherlands, as well as in many of Europe’s leading venues and in the United States and Asia.
As a soloist, Ella has performed with leading orchestras such as the hr-Sinfonieorchester, Brussels Philharmonic, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Phion Orchestra, and Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. She has collaborated with distinguished conductors, including Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Sanderling, and Karina Canellakis, among others.
Ella premiered a new cello concerto written for her by Finnish composer Uljas Pulkkis during the Cello Biennale in Amsterdam. The work received its German premiere at the Kronberg Festival, performed with members of the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt.
As a passionate chamber musician, Ella has performed with András Schiff, Gary Hoffman, Nobuko Imai, and Tabea Zimmermann, among others. For many years, she has regularly performed in recital with pianists Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, Ben Kim, Severin von Eckardstein, and her brother Nicolas van Poucke.
Ella is a regular guest at numerous international festivals, including Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Music@Menlo, and Krzyżowa Music, among others.
She is the winner of the prestigious Premio Chigiana 2017 and first prize at the International Isang Yun Cello Competition 2015, among other distinctions. As a Dutch Rising Star, Ella was invited to give two Carte Blanche concerts at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in the 2013–14 season.
In addition to her busy performing career, Ella is deeply committed to teaching. In 2022, she was appointed professor of cello at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where she is also head of the cello department.
Born into a family of musicians, Ella began playing the cello at the age of six. At the age of ten, she entered the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and later continued her studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Godfried Hoogeveen. From 2009 to 2016, she studied with Frans Helmerson at the Kronberg Academy in Germany. From 2016 to 2019, she was an Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels, where she studied with Gary Hoffman.
Ella plays a 1620 Giovanni Paolo Maggini cello, kindly lent to her by an anonymous benefactor.