Mike Block

Mike Block is a multi-genre cellist living in New York City. He is the singer, cellist and composer for the Mike Block Band, which features a mixture of original songs and instrumentals drawing upon multiple genres. He also performs with the Triboro Trio, featuring contemporary arrangements of traditional and new folk music from around the world. While studying at the Juilliard School, he joined the Silk Road Ensemble, and upon graduation in 2006, joined Grammy Award winner Mark O'Connor in his Appalachia Waltz Trio. Block has since played with Darol Anger's Republic of Strings, The Knights, The Absolute Ensemble, Sirius String Quartet, Flux Quartet, yMusic, Bassam Saba's New York Arabic Orchestra, and in a duo with Chinese pipa virtuoso Yang Wei. His compositions have been performed at the Bremen MusikFest, Tribeca New Music Festival, the MATA Festival, and the Kimmel Center series "Fresh Ink." Block also co-created Kreol, a software program that turns your computer into a musical instrument that you play by typing into the keyboard.