Cellist Ani Aznavoorian has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic, and the Boston Pops. An avid chamber musician and teacher, she is the principal cellist of Camerata Pacifica and appears regularly at chamber music festivals around the world. Additionally, she has served on the music faculty at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. She received the Presidential Scholar in the Arts Medal from  President Bill Clinton, the Bunkamura Orchard Hall Award, and was a prize winner of the International Paulo Cello Competition. A vigorous proponent of new music, she has premiered concertos by Lera Auerbach, Ezra Laderman, and chamber music by John Harbison, Clarice Assad, David Bruce, and Bright Sheng. This season features her Ravinia debut, along with a tour of Spain and Slovenia. Aznavoorian records for Cedille Records, and proudly performs on a cello made by her father Peter Aznavoorian in Chicago.