Mike Block

Block has played second cello alongside Yo-Yo Ma.{{Cite web |title= Yo-Yo Ma, Mike Block, Monica Leskovar & Boston Cello Quartet | url=https://www.boston-theater.com/shows/tanglewood-music-center/yo-yo-ma-mike-block-monika-leskovar-boston-cello-quartet|website=Boston-theater.com }} He also performed in Mark O'Connor's Appalachia Waltz trio for three years.{{Cite web |title=Grammy-Winning Violinist Mark O'Connor and His Appalachia Waltz Trio Perform in Studio |date=31 July 2008 |url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/2008/07/31/grammy-winning-violinist-mark-oconnor-and-his |publisher=KPBS}} Block has also performed with Bobby McFerrin, Lenny Kravitz, Shakira, The National, Joe Zawinul, Alison Krauss, and Rachel Barton Pine.{{Cite news|title=A Brooklyn Buffet: Local Cellist Launches New Music Fest |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703992704576305420517397498 |publisher=Wall St Journal |first=Andy |last=Battaglia |date=May 6, 2011}} Block plays with the Silk Road Ensemble.{{Cite web |title=Mike Block- The Silk Road Project|url=https://www.silkroad.org/artists-mike-block|website=Silk Road Project }} Block has served as musical director for Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Lil' Buck Sinegal, Bill Irwin, Marcus Printup, The Silk Road Ensemble, and The Knights.

Block is the leader of the Mike Block Trio alongside Joe K. Walsh mandolin/vocals and Zachariah Hickman bass/vocals. Most recently, their album What Now? was released on Bright Shiny Things records in 2022.{{Cite web |url=https://www.brightshiny.ninja/what-now |title=Bright Shiny Things-What Now? |publisher=Bright Shiny Things}}

Block plays regularly as part of a duo with Indian tabla player Sandeep Das. In 2022, they released their debut album Where the Soul Never Dies on the Bright Shiny Things record label.{{cite web |url=https://thevinylfactory.com/news/sandeep-das-mike-block-new-album-vinyl/ |title= Tabla player Sandeep Das and cellist Mike Block collaborate on new album |website=The Vinyl Factory}}

Alongside balafon player Balla Kouyaté, Block is a member of Djékady. The project "puts Malian music into conversation with American folk music and contemporary styles".{{Cite web |url=https://www.jaymestone.com/agency/djekady |publisher=Jayme Stone |title= Djekady (feat. Balla Kouyate and Mike Block}} Along with Block and Kouyaté, the band consists of Sekou Dembele, Idrissa Koné, Luke Okerlund, and Mike Rivard.

Since 2022, Block has been a member of Biribá Union along with Christylez Bacon and Patricia Ligia. The trio originally met at Silkroad's Global Musician Workshop. Their music is a blend of "Brazilian beats, bluegrass, jazz, classical, hip-hop, funk, and pop."{{Cite web |url=https://www.lifeinthefingerlakes.com/events/biriba-union/ |title=Biriba Union |date=16 April 2024 |publisher=Life in the Finger Lakes}} Their debut album will be released on the Bright Shiny Things label in 2025.{{Cite web |url=https://www.jaymestone.com/agency/biriba-union |title=Biriba Union |website=Jaymestone.com |author=Jayme Stone}}

In 2012, Block was appointed Associate Professor of Music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.{{Cite web|url=http://www.berklee.edu/people/mike-block|title=Berklee - Mike Block |publisher=Berklee}} In 2018, Block joined the faculty of New England Conservatory{{Cite web |url=https://necmusic.edu/faculty/mike-block/ |title=Mike Block- NEC |publisher=New England Conservatory}} He has presented at Stanford University, Princeton University, Harvard University, New York University, Berklee College of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, New England Conservatory, Belmont University, Southern Methodist University, Sam Houston State University, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and University of Arkansas.

In 2006, he received Suzuki method certification in music education from the New York City-based School for Strings, under Pamela Devenport.{{Cite web|url=https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4088&context=somp|title=Guest Artist: Mike Block, Cello/Composer; Katherine Lewis, Viola|website=Ir.library.illinoisstate.edu|access-date=January 11, 2025}}

From 2009 to 2012, he was the Lead Teaching Artist for Silk Road Connect, a partnership between Silkroad and schools in New York City and Boston.{{Cite web |url=http://www.silkroadproject.org/Education/SilkRoadConnect/tabid/455/Default.aspx |title=Silk Road Connect |publisher=Silk Road Project |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306093701/http://www.silkroadproject.org/Education/SilkRoadConnect/tabid/455/Default.aspx |archivedate=2013-03-06 }}

In June 2024, Block, alongside his wife Hanneke Cassel, designed and taught an artist's retreat called "Insight/Onsight: A Creative Retreat" at Fallingwater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright in Mill Run, Pennsylvania for the first time. Musicians over 18 of any instrument can apply to be selected for the program which will run each June for one week. The program consists of different types of sessions, both instructor led and independent, which are all "inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's philosophy of 'learning by doing'".{{Cite web |url=https://fallingwater.org/fallingwater-institute/insight-onsite/insight-onsite-a-creative-music-retreat-with-mike-block/ |title=Insight/Onsite: A Creative Music Retreat Directed by Mike Block |publisher= Fallingwater}}

Block has been teaching cello online in partnership with ArtistWorks since 2015.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150811006347/en/ArtistWorks-Engages-Esteemed-Cellist-for-Multi-Style-Cello-Online-Teaching|title=ArtistWorks Engages Esteemed Cellist for Multi-Style Cello Online Teaching|date=August 11, 2015|website=Businesswire.com}}

In 2009 Block founded the Mike Block String Camp (MBSC) in Vero Beach, Florida. Teachers provide instruction in multiple traditions, develop improvisational skills, and coach student bands to prepare for performances.{{Cite web |url=http://www.MikeBlockStringCamp.com |title=Mike Block String camp|website=Mike Block}}

In 2015, Block patented the Block Cello Strap{{Cite web |url=https://www.cellostrap.com/ |title=The Block Strap |publisher=The Block Strap}} which is described as "the first product designed so you can stand & move while playing the cello comfortably with standard technique".

In early 2024, Block joined Forte3D as Chief Operating Officer & Musical Instrument Consultant.{{Cite web |url=https://www.mikeblockmusic.com/news/introducingnbspforte3dthe-worlds-first-3d-printed-carbon-fiber-cello |title=Introducing Forte3D:the world's first 3D-printed carbon fiber Cello|date=24 May 2024 }} The company manufactures "cellos with bodies and necks made with cutting-edge 3D printing technology using high-strength carbon fiber and polymers, combined with traditional material components like wooden bridges and sound posts, ebony fingerboards, and standard tailpieces, endpins, and tuning pegs.".{{Cite web |url=https://forte3d.com/about |title=Forte3d: About |website=Forte3d.com}}

In 2020, Mike founded Play Vote the Vote, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization "dedicated to amplifying voter turnout and civic engagement through the transformative power of live music."{{Cite web|url=https://www.playforthevote.org/about|title=About|website=Playforthevote.org|access-date=January 11, 2025}} The initiative aims to "make voting a more positive experience for everyone, using the power of music to build community and amplify voter turnout."{{Cite web |url=https://www.thestrad.com/news/mike-blocks-play-for-the-vote-calls-for-musicians-to-perform-at-polling-locations-on-us-election-day/18631.article |title=Mike Block's 'Play for the Vote' calls for musicians to perform at polling locations on US Election Day |publisher=The Strad}} Musicians of any age, background, or style can sign up to play at their local polling location.

From 2011–2012, he was the Artistic Director and host of GALA Brooklyn: "Global Art - Local Art:", a Music Festival in Brooklyn.{{Cite web |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/pdf/2012_21bn.pdf |publisher=Brooklyn Paper |title=Streisand shows a hot ticket}} Block started the Vero Beach International Music Festival in 2014, which features performances by students and faculty of the Mike Block String Camp.{{Cite web |title=Free student concerts and seasoned musicians to entertain you in Vero Beach|url=https://www.tcpalm.com/story/entertainment/whattodoin772/2018/06/29/free-student-concerts-and-seasoned-musicians-entertain-you-vero-beach/727170002// |publisher=TCPalm |author=Willi Miller}} He has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, National Public Radio's St. Paul Sunday, Regis and Kelly, VH1, the Disney Channel, WNBC-TV with Chuck Scarborough, and the CBS Early Show. He worked with director Yaron Zilberman as a music consultant for A Late Quartet, a 2011 movie starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken.

Block attended Cleveland Institute of Music (B.M. 2004){{Cite web | url=https://www.cim.edu/concerts-events/perspectives-mike-block-and-balla-kouyate | title=Perspectives- Mike Block and Balla Kouyate|publisher=Cleveland Institute of Music}} and The Juilliard School (M.M. 2006).{{Cite web | url=https://www.juilliard.edu/news/139741/alumni-qa-mike-block | title=Alumni Q&A with Mike Block |publisher=Juilliard School}}

In January 2014, Block married fiddler and composer Hanneke Cassel. He currently lives in Boston with his wife and daughter.

Block was struck by a Manhattan taxi in 2009, with injuries that required multiple surgeries.

• Mike Block's Biribá Union with Christylez Bacon and Patricia Ligia{{Cite web|title=Biribá Union

| url=https://www.jaymestone.com/agency/biriba-union|publisher=Jayme Stone}}

• Mike Block Trio with Joe K. Walsh and Zachariah Hickman{{Cite web |url=https://portlandmaine.com/events/mike-block-trio-feat-joe-k-walsh-and-zachariah-hickman/ |title= Mike Block Trio feat. Joe Walsh and Zachariah Hickman |date= 10 February 2022 |publisher=Portland Downtown}}
• Darol Anger's Republic of Strings{{Cite web|title=Royal Artist Group- Darol Anger |url=https://ragman.org/darol-anger-s-republic-of-strings|publisher=Royal Artist Group}}
• Djékady (feat. Balla Kouyaté and Mike Block){{Cite web| url=https://www.jaymestone.com/agency/djekady |title=Djékady (Feat. Balla Kouyaté & Mike Block) |publisher=Jayme Stone}}
• Duo with Hanneke Cassel, Celtic fiddler{{Cite web|title=Musical Performance by Mike Block and Hanneke Cassel| url=https://fallingwater.org/events/musical-performance-by-the-hanneke-cassel-and-mike-block-duo/|publisher=Fallingwater}}
• Duo with Sandeep Das, Indian tabla player{{Cite web|title=Video Premiere: "Fight or Flight" by Sandeep Das and Mike Block|date=11 May 2021 |url=https://icareifyoulisten.com/2021/05/video-premiere-fight-or-flight-by-sandeep-das-and-mike-block/|publisher=I Care if You Listen}}
• Duo with Balla Kouyate, balafon player from Mali{{Cite web|title=Celebrity Series: Mike Block and Balla Kouyate Perform for Students |date=4 January 2023 |url=https://bostonartsacademy.org/celebrity-series-mike-block-and-balla-kouyate-perform-for-students/|publisher=Boston Arts Academy}}
• Duo with Rachel Barton Pine, classical violinist{{Cite web|title=Heavy Metal Metallica for Violin and Cello |date=30 January 2017 |url=https://www.theviolinchannel.com/metallica-one-violin-cello-rachel-barton-pine/ |publisher=The Violin Channel}}
• Duo with Clay Ross, guitarist and singer{{Cite web|title=Mike Block and Clay Ross Pride of America Duo|url=https://do617.com/events/2014/12/10/mike-block-and-clay-ross-pride-of-america-duo|publisher=Do617}}
• Duo with Yang Wei, Chinese pipa player{{Cite web|title=Block ends area tour with concert in Kemp Hall|date=25 February 2009 |url=https://www.videtteonline.com/block-ends-area-tour-with-concert-in-kemp-hall/article_5d75c0c8-523e-56b3-b60e-33cb2fd3b6b7.html|publisher=The Vidette}}
• Duo with Derek Gripper, South African guitarist{{Cite web|title=Program: Derek Gripper & Mike Block |date=29 September 2022 |url=https://www.globalartslive.org/content/program-derek-gripper-mike-block|publisher=Global Arts}}

• [https://music.apple.com/us/album/words-r-words/324429529 Words R Words], Mike Block Band (2009)
• [https://music.apple.com/us/album/after-the-factory-closes/352892997 After the Factory Closes], Mike Block Band (2010)
• [https://triboroughtrio.bandcamp.com/album/naive-melody Naïve Melody], Triborough Trio (2011)
• Brick by Brick (2012)
• [https://mikeblock.bandcamp.com/album/final-night-at-camp-deluxe-edition Final Night at Camp] (2018)
• [https://www.brightshiny.ninja/echoes-of-bach Echoes of Bach], with Shane Shanahan (2018)
• [https://newcape.bandcamp.com/album/saturday-morning-in-boston-2?fbclid=IwAR0SCOCnyn6Yi5TXuqJ4YazbGsNzW8p_0Gk2snqRbjQGRbDbG9Qfl9sma7g Saturday Morning in Boston], with Derek Gripper (2019)
• [https://www.discogs.com/release/22412713-Mike-Block-Walls-of-Time Walls of Time] (2019)
• [https://www.brightshiny.ninja/its-time-to-dance It’s Time to Dance] (2019)
• [https://mikeblock.bandcamp.com/album/13-shades-i-13-farbt-ne 13 Shades I 13 Farbtöne], with Stephan Braun (2019)
• [https://www.brightshiny.ninja/step-into-the-void Step into the Void: The Complete Bach Cello Suites] (2020)
• [https://www.discogs.com/release/16562223-Mike-Block-Guzo Guzo] (2020)
• [https://www.discogs.com/release/25981675-Mike-Block-The-Edge-Of-The-Atmosphere The Edge of the Atmosphere] (2020)
• [https://www.discogs.com/release/21666991-Sandeep-Das-Mike-Block-Where-The-Soul-Never-Dies Where the Soul Never Dies], Sandeep Das & Mike Block Duo (2021)
• [https://www.brightshiny.ninja/planispheres Planispheres] (2021)
• [https://www.brightshiny.ninja/machines-that-fly Machines That Fly] (2022)
• [https://www.brightshiny.ninja/round-and-round Round and Round; Kids’ Songs for Mixed Ages], with Barry Rothman (2022)
• [https://www.brightshiny.ninja/what-now What Now?], Mike Block Trio (2022)

With Rez Abbasi

• Things to Come (Sunnyside, 2009)

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.MikeBlockMusic.com Official website]
• [https://www.mikeblockstringcamp.com/ Mike Block String Camp Official Website]
• [https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mike-block/377968633 Mike Block] on Apple Music
• [https://open.spotify.com/artist/6GhVNE9DFcFsJ5z0AsFsGv Mike Block] on Spotify
• [https://discogs.com/artist/1479753-Mike-Block Mike Block] discography at Discogs
• [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mike-block-mn0000734887 Mike Block] at All Music
• [https://artistworks.com/cello-lessons-mike-block?ads_cmpid=1362131161&ads_adid=54801850736&ads_matchtype=b&ads_network=g&ads_creative=695319829578&utm_term=mike%20block&ads_targetid=aud-834138629711:kwd-6655830701&utm_campaign=bass%2Feast&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=cpc&ttv=2&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw99e4BhDiARIsAISE7P-gg2X96RN2alrz41-PxpLQK5N58PJI7a1Xx8R2MtTx9H56zx2fYhMaAkOnEALw_wcB Official page] on ArtistWorks

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Mike}}

Category:1982 births

Category:Living people

Category:American classical cellists

Category:Contemporary classical music performers

Category:Juilliard School alumni

Category:21st-century American classical composers

Category:Jazz cellists

Category:American bluegrass cellists

Category:Musicians from New York City

Category:21st-century American musicians

Category:American male classical composers

Category:Country musicians from New York (state)

Category:Classical musicians from New York (state)

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Category:21st-century American cellists