Noted for his “remarkable stage presence and a gift for communicating with his audience” (Anthony Quinn Foundation), American cellist Wick Simmons has appeared as a soloist with the Georgia Philharmonic, the Northwestern University Cello Ensemble, the Georgia College Orchestra and on NPR’s From The Top show with Christopher O’Riley. Wickliffe is a Winner of the 2016 Yamaha National Young Performing Artists competition and received top prizes in the Thaviu Competition for String Performance (2017), the Atlanta Music Club competition (2013) and the Samuel Fordis Young Artists Concerto Competition (2011).
Most recently, he performed for the ceremony in which the 2017 Anthony Quinn Foundation Award was presented to the playwright, Lin Manuel Miranda, in Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater in New York City.
This summer, Wick was a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival held at MASS MoCA, where he had the opportunity to perform in small ensembles with members of the Bang on a Can All Stars including guitarist Mark Stewart, cellist Ashley Bathgate and pianist Vicki Ray. In past summers he has attended The Heifetz Institute, Pinchas Zukerman’s Young Artists Programme, Orford Musique, The PyongChang Summer Music Festival and the Kronberg Academy. He has received instruction from esteemed artists and professors including Frans Helmerson, Laurence Lesser, Timothy Eddy, Colin Carr and Jian Wang, among others.
A cross-disciplinary artist, Wick has worked with contemporary choreographers and filmmakers on multimedia projects including a music video featuring cello and contemporary dance for a “re-imagining” of the rock song “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons. He will be releasing a new music video on an original composition in collaboration with a trashcan drum ensemble. In 2016, he was invited to perform at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art in Evanston, Illinois, for its exhibit “A Feast of Astonishments: Charlotte Moorman and the Avante-Garde, 1960s-1980s,” featuring the works of John Cage. As a chamber musician, Wickliffe has performed with distinguished artists including Jennifer Stumm, Kurt Muroki, Christopher Rex, and has been mentored by artists such as Frank Huang, Daniel Heifetz, and members of the Dover, Ying, and Cleveland string quartets.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, he studied with Hans Jørgen Jensen at Northwestern University and is continuing his graduate studies with Fred Sherry in the Contemporary Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music.