Denielle Wilson

On Stage

Denielle Wilson is a musician and educator from Lithonia, Georgia. She has played in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and recently completed her master's degree as a diversity fellow with the Cincinnati Symphony and University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. Her undergraduate degree was done at Northwestern University in 2017, having majored in cello performance and music education. Her musical mentors have included Hans Jørgen Jensen, Alan Rafferty, Joel Dallow and Nan Kimberling. She has spent summers at the Meadowmount School of Music, Bowdoin Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Grant Park Music Festival. She has taught privately in the metropolitan Atlanta and Chicago areas, and has been a string orchestra teacher and sectionals coach at elementary, middle, and high schools in Evanston and Skokie, Illinois. She plays in a piano trio with her siblings, Dana and Cliff Jr., and they enjoy sharing classical and religious music with their local community. 

Off Stage

How were you introduced to music and the cello?
I was primarily introduced to music at church. My father loves singing, and started me and my siblings on piano lessons when we turned five years old. The classical station was often our radio listening of choice, and by the time I was ten, my dad started taking me to cello lessons.

What do you look forward to most about living and working in Charlotte?
I look forward to getting to know the outdoor beauty of Charlotte, making new friends, and growing more familiar with the feelings of playing in an orchestra full-time. I am hoping to find at least one good vegan/vegetarian Caribbean restaurant.

What do you do for fun when you're not performing/practicing?
I enjoy eating out, listening to music, reading, and having long telephone conversations with my siblings. An occasional visit to the movie theater is also nice.