Matthew Christakos joined the New York Philharmonic as Associate Principal Cello, The Paul and Diane Guenther Chair, in 2024. Originally from Toronto, Canada, he studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and served as principal cello of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. His honors include the 2019 Canada Council for the Arts’s Michael Measures Prize, Second Prize in the Canadian Music Competition’s 2019 Stepping Stone, and First Prize in the 2017 Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival President’s Trophy Competition. Before attending Curtis, Christakos studied in Toronto at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists, where he won the concerto competition and performed as soloist with the Academy Chamber Orchestra. In 2019 he toured Canada and Spain as a featured soloist with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Christakos is an alumnus of the Morningside Music Bridge program.
New York Philharmonic Musician Portraits. Matthew Christakos. Photo: Brandon Patoc