Leelanau Summer Music Festival
World class music in
“America’s most beautiful place”
Carl Donakowski, Cello
Leelanau Summer Music Festival - Artistic Director
Cellist Carl Donakowski was a finalist in the 1989 Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin. His recital performances have been heard at the Kennedy Center, Merkin Hall and aired on WQRS Detroit, WQXR New York, and Südwestfunk Baden-Baden.
As a chamber musician, he has been a member of the North Shore Pro Musica of New York and of the Fontana Chamber Music Society. He has performed at the Manitou, Staunton, Tanglewood, Bay View, and Beethoven music festivals. As a member of the West End Chamber Ensemble he was Artist-in-Residence with the Chamber Music America Rural Residency Chamber Music Initiative.
As a member of the Arcos Trio, Mr. Donakowski has performed on four continents and was recently awarded an Artistic Excellence grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to perform and record piano trios by Latin American composer. This recording was released in 2015 on the Centaur label.
Mr. Donakowski is Professor of Cello at James Madison University where he received the 2010 award for distinguished teaching in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
He previously served on the faculties of Central Michigan University School of Music and Alma College. He is a frequent presenter at National Conference of the American String Teachers Association. He served as president of the Michiana Cello Society and currently edits the Cello Forum for the Virginia String Teachers Association.
Mr. Donakowski is a graduate of Indiana University where he studied with Janos Starker and Gary Hoffman. He has also studied with Timothy Eddy and William Pleeth and chamber music with members of the Juilliard and Guarneri string quartets.