NORWICH – The Chenango Arts Council, 27 West Main Street, Norwich, announces the return of internationally acclaimed cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. Kristina will be joined by a pianist and percussionist for Besame Mucho: Love Songs from Around the World.

Kristina Reiko Cooper has won widespread acclaim for her musical versatility, her virtuosity, her charismatic stage presence and her passionate intensity. She has found great success in numerous forms of media, from her best-selling DVDs and CDs, to television performances and commercials, magazine covers, print fashion ads and even her own magazine column.

Although well-known for traversing musical genres, she first established her career as a classical artist. Hailed by the New York Times as “sensational in concert” and as a “striking virtuoso” by the Los Angeles Times, Kristina has performed as a soloist and chamber musician on many of the world’s most distinguished stages. She has been the featured soloist with such highly regarded orchestras as the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony and the Osaka Symphony and has toured extensively with the Tokyo Yomiuri Orchestra. She is a frequent featured performer at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall,Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Jerusalem’s Henry Crown Hall, Toronto’s Roy Thompson Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Kioi Hall of Tokyo, Beethoven Hall in Stuttgart, Radio France in Paris, Stockholm Concert Hall, and the Fiesole Amphitheater. Her many festival appearances include The Lincoln Center

Summer Festival, Mostly Mozart, Musicians from Marlboro, Bang on a Can All-

Stars, Stresa International Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and Spoleto

Festival USA.

As a chamber musician, Kristina received the Walter M. Naumburg Chamber Music Award first prize. She has been a member of many renowned ensembles, including the internationally acclaimed Quartetto Gelato, Concertante and The Whitman String Quartet. She is also the musical co-director of The Israel Chamber Music Society.

Kristina has an extensive discography of CD and DVD recordings, including many best-sellers, with over 2 dozen recordings to her credit. Kristina has been heard often on National Public Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, NHK in Japan, KBS in Korea, WNYC and WQXR in New York City, as well as in television broadcasts for CNN, PBS, CBC Television, CBS’s 60 Minutes, national Chinese Television, KBS Television in Korea, Fuji Television and NHK Television in Japan.

Kristina received her bachelors and masters degrees in music and her doctorate of musical arts from The Juilliard School where she studied with Joel Krosnick, Robert Mann and Felix Galimir. She is currently a visiting professor at The Jerusalem Academy of Music, and plays on a 1786 William Forester Cello.

Tickets for this performance range in price from $20 to $25, with discounts for members of the Arts Council, youth, and senior citizens. Tickets can be purchased online at www.chenangoarts.org or by calling the Chenango Arts Council at 336-2787.