Biography

Luke Cissell is an actor and composer. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Luke Cissell began playing music at a young age. He was a bluegrass fiddling champion at the age of eight and performed Mozart's third violin concerto on his first honors recital soon thereafter. Luke earned a degree in History from Princeton University before establishing himself in New York City as a professional musician and composer. As a session musician he has played at many well-known New York venues (Radio City Music Hall, the Bitter End, the Knitting Factory, CBGB's, the Living Room, Zebulon, Rockwood Music Hall, John Zorn's The Stone) and has recorded for a wide variety of artists from Ingrid Michaelson to Philip Glass. This April he toured China with the Manhattan Symphonie. Luke is a 2013-14 Teaching Artist for the New York Philharmonic's Very Young Composers Bridge program for New York City middle school composers. His recorded and written output includes two albums of original music, two numbered string quartets, a piano trio, an operatic overture, a solo violin suite, and various shorter works for solo and mixed ensemble.