Anthony De Peña is a first-generation Dominican cellist from Miami, Florida, where he began his musical training. As the first and only musician in his family, he pursued an undergraduate degree at the Manhattan School of Music, studying under Julia Lichten and David Geber. During his time there, he received extensive chamber music coachings from the American String Quartet and has served as Assistant Principal for both the MSM Symphony Orchestra and the MSM pit orchestra. Anthony is active as a professional cellist in (but not limited to) South Florida, performing with ensembles such as the Florida Grand Opera and Palm Beach Opera. He has engaged in
multi-genre projects with composer Justin Hurwitz at the Miami Film Festival and serves as Resident Musician for the Quisisana piano trio at Quisisana Resort.

 

As of recently, he was added to the guest artist rosters for the Emmy-nominated Palaver Strings. In 2022, Anthony attended the Kent Blossom Music Festival as a fellow, a partnership between The Cleveland Orchestra and Kent State University. There, he collaborated with Miami String Quartet cellist Keith Robinson on a performance of Shostakovich’s Octet and performed with The Cleveland Orchestra at the Kent Blossom Music Center. In 2023, he participated in the Gingold Chamber Music Festival, working closely with Andrés Cárdenes and Gary Levinson, Concertmaster Emeritus of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, on premieres of new works by emerging composers and performances of string quartets by Ravel, Smetana, and Beethoven. He has also performed in masterclasses with Christine Lamprea, Rafael Figueroa, and Julian Schwarz. 

Currently, Anthony is continuing his studies at Florida International University under cellist Jason Calloway of the Amernet String Quartet, with a focus on chamber music and music business.