Nicholas Mariscal

cello

A native of Tucson, Arizona, cellist Nicholas Mariscal has been a member of the cello section of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since May of 2023. Beginning in 2021, he held the position of Assistant Principal Cello of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and served as the orchestra’s Acting Principal Cello during the 2023-24 season.

Mariscal has appeared as guest principal cellist with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra in their tour of South Korea, and has performed as principal cello of the Fjord Cadenza Festival in Ålesund, Norway. An alumnus of the New World Symphony in Miami, Mariscal was a winner of the orchestra’s concerto competition, performing the Khachaturian Cello Concerto-Rhapsody. Later in 2018, he made his solo debut performing the same work with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he is a top prize winner in the Sphinx, Edith Knox, and Indiana University Latin American Music Center competitions.

As an ardent performer of new and lesser-known music, Mariscal has been involved in dozens of premieres of new works, and has performed extensively as a member of the Aspen, Indiana University, and USC new music ensembles. A passionate proponent of Latin American music, he has recorded music for unaccompanied cello by composers including Osvaldo Golijov, Alberto Ginastera, and Paul Desenne in an album entitled Nubes Bajas. Also a dedicated chamber musician, Mariscal has performed with artists including Midori Goto, Jorja Fleezanis, Tamás Varga, Atar Arad, and Peter Takács. Since joining the Cincinnati Symphony, he had performed as a member of the Red Door String Quartet, comprised of Cincinnati Symphony musicians.

Mariscal received his Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, studying with Eric Kim, and attained graduate degrees from the University of Southern California, where he studied with Ralph Kirshbaum and David Geringas.