TT cellist to perform at Korea music fest

Trinidadian Tracell Frederick beat out 205 applicants to secure a place in South Korea’s Orchestra Festival next month.

The 24-year-old cellist will perform with the Seoul International Community Orchestra (SICO) at the festival in Seoul. The 63-member orchestra will feature talents from 29 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Singapore from October 16 to 24.

Frederick started playing the piano when she was nine-years-old before falling in love with the violin. Musical director of the TT Philharmonic Orchestra, Kenneth Listhrop, taught her to play but when he was building the cello section, he asked her to switch, although it was not her favourite instrument at the time, she said. However, she soon fell in love with the cello, even calling it her “baby.”

She holds several grade eight certificates from the Royal School of Music in cello, violin and music theory. She also has a grade eight certificate in piano, from London’s Trinity College.

Frederick said being selected for the festival was the highlight of her music career thus far. “I am very excited and placing all fears of dangers aside,” she said.

She is also eager to share the knowledge she will gain from the experience with her fellow students. A law student at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, Frederick calls music and by extension the cello, a beautiful escape and breath of fresh air from the rush and demands of her academic courses.