Stephanie March – Cello

A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Stephanie March is Principal Cellist of the SCSO and Assistant Principal of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. She teaches cello and chamber music at Morningside University in addition to maintaining a private studio of young cellists. She entered the Eastman School of Music as one of five prestigious Rogers Scholars and graduated with Highest Distinction in 2011. While at Eastman, she studied cello with Steven Doane and Rosemary Elliott and performed as principal in
orchestras under the baton of Maestro Neil Varon. Her master’s degree was earned at Northwestern
University (Evanston, IL) where she attended as a full tuition Eckstein Scholarship winner, studying
with Hans Jørgen Jensen.

March’s love of orchestral music began early in life. She started cello studies at age three with Joseph Shufro, Principal Cellist of the SCSO. At age eleven she continued her pre-college studies with Peter Howard, Principal Cellist of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. By the time she was twelve, she was performing as a full section member in the SCSO. Since that time, she has performed with the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, the New World Symphony in Miami, the Omaha Symphony, and as Associate Principal with the South Dakota Symphony. Performances as featured soloist with the Sioux City Symphony have included the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Maestro Xian Zhang and more recently a performance of works by Rachmaninoff and Ginastera to celebrate the symphony’s centennial season with Maestro Ryan Haskins.

As soloist and chamber musician, March has been featured at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the prestigious Meadowmount School of Music, where she also taught, the LeMoyne Music Journeys Series, the Piano Recital Series at Morningside University, and the Sioux City Chamber Music Association Series. In 2013, March was selected as the National Winner of the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist String Competition in Anaheim, CA.

March’s chamber music collaborations have included such distinguished artists as Grammy nominated
James Ehnes, Paavali Jumppanen and Andrew Russo. She has also worked with award winning composer George Tsontakis and Pulitzer Prize winner Aaron Jay Kernis. She has served as the cellist with the Dakota String Quartet and currently performs as a duo partner with SCSO Principal Bassist Chunyang Wang. Their duo was selected in 2021 to present “Low Strings Attached,” a recital for the convention of the International Society of Bassists. March also performs in a trio with clarinetist Parker Gaims from the President’s Own Marine Band and pianist Yi-Yang Chen, Professor of Music at the University of Kansas. In addition, she collaborates regularly with Shichao Zhang, faculty pianist from Northwestern University, for solo recital appearances.