Our third annual Fred & Charlotte Hubbell Visiting Artist In Residence Program, an initiative designed to offer unique opportunities for the organization to engage with the community in a meaningful way, takes place from March 4-9. The program was established through a $1 million gift from the Hubbells through the Symphony’s Sound of the City campaign.

Sterling Elliott joins the Symphony as the third annual Fred & Charlotte Hubbell Visiting Artist In Residence. He will spend nearly a week working with students in area schools, including Roosevelt High School, Hoover High School, East High School, Lincoln High School, North High School, Valley High School, Valley Southwoods, and at the Des Moines Symphony Academy. And on March 8 and 9, he'll perform Haydn's Cello Concerto in D Major with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra. 

A variety of activities have been planned for the residency.

SCHOOL VISITS  

A variety of workshops will be led by Sterling Elliott at several high schools, including Roosevelt High School, Hoover High School, East High School, Lincoln High School, North High School, Valley High School and Valley Southwoods.

DES MOINES SYMPHONY YOUTH ENSEMBLES CLINICS  

Students at the Des Moines Symphony Academy will work with Elliott during the Fred & Charlotte Hubbell Visiting Artists In Resdence week. 

CONCERT PERFORMANCE

Sterling Elliott makes his Des Moines debut performing Haydn’s elegant Cello Concerto in D Major. Coleridge-Taylor’s The Song of Hiawatha and Dvorak’s New World Symphony bookend the concert, celebrating the rich tapestry of American musical expression. Join us on March 8 and 9 for From the New World. 

The Visiting Artist in Residence program was made possible by a generous gift from Fred & Charlotte Hubbell. 

STERLING ELLIOTT

Acclaimed for his stellar stage presence and joyous musicianship, cellist Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. Already in his young career, he has appeared with major orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In the 2024/2025 season Sterling Elliott debuts with the Atlanta Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, Des Moines Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony and returns to the Wilmington Symphony. He joins the Madison Symphony for the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Gil and Orli Shaham and returns to Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s led by Louis Langree. As the YCAT–Music Masters Robey Artist he will Tour New Zealand in addition to appearances at Wigmore Hall, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and others. This season he also begins his tenure as a BBC New Generation Artist with radio appearances and more.

Born into a musical household, Sterling initially wanted to play the violin like his older brother and sister. After a bit of encouragement, he completed The Elliott Family String Quartet, an ensemble that enjoyed personalized arrangements of genres such as bluegrass, gospel, and funk music.

Sterling is pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim, following completion of his Master of Music and undergraduate degrees at Juilliard. He performs on a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.