From: Tokyo, Japan

Education: B.A. Harvard University; M.M. Manhattan School of Music

I play and teach: Cello

Biography: Rei Otake is a cellist and educator with deep interdisciplinary interests ranging from music to science and social innovation.

Rei’s recent performances include appearances at the Cello Akademie Rutesheim in Germany, Academie Music Orford in Quebec, and Kioicho Salon Hall in Tokyo, as well as masterclasses with Laurence Lesser, Lluís Claret, Wen-Sinn Yang, and Hannah Roberts. He has also previously performed in world-class venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, KKL Luzern, Boston Symphony Hall, and Carnegie Hall as a member of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

Rei is also a passionate educator. He has previously worked as a teaching assistant at the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Boston and El Sistema Japan, and has also taught cello privately since 2012. He has significant teaching experience outside of music, as he was previously a teaching assistant at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard, and a director/senior instructor at an after-school education program called Tokyo Academics.

Rei earned his M.M. and Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Philippe Muller, and also holds a B.A. from Harvard College in 2015.