AKA: “Torch”

Age: 28

Height: 5’9″

Ethnicity: Japanese/Eastern European

Places Lived: Born and raised in San Antonio, TX.  Went to college in Cleveland, OH for 5 years.  I currently live in Ann Arbor, MI.

Favorite BoR Song: The last 1:50 of the last track of the new album (IV. Finale)

Why? It is a cinematic passage of epic proportions – it just sounds so cool!

Musical Influences: My cello teachers over the years – Richard Aaron, Anthony Elliott, Norman Fischer, Stephen Geber, Ken Ishii (my father), and of course Patrick, Ivan, and Laura.

Quirks: I don’t eat fast food.  I have never owned a TV – don’t try to talk to me about TV shows!

Favorite Cuisine: Anything Asian

Best Part of Being in BoR: Rocking out with the band and interacting with our diverse fan base.

Activities Outside BoR: Teaching cello, cooking, real estate, traveling and learning about other cultures, discovering new music, and meeting unusual people.

BIO

Cellist and educator Martin Torch-Ishii holds degrees from the University of Michigan (DMA), the Cleveland Institute of Music (BM, MM), and the Toho School of Music in Japan (Performers Certificate).  He maintains a busy schedule in Michigan, playing with the Ann Arbor Symphony and touring Broadway productions, and teaching a large private studio of cello students. Martin was Assistant Principal of the Akron Symphony, a regular substitute with the San Antonio Symphony, and participated in numerous summer festivals including Spoleto USA, Kneisel Hall, and Aspen.  As an educator, he has been on faculty at the Sphinx Preparatory Institute (Detroit) and the Five Seasons Chamber Music Festival (Iowa).  In 2010, he co-founded the Ann Arbor Cello Camp, an intensive summer cello workshop that continues to expand each year.  Martin has taught at the college level as Graduate Student Instructor of Cello at the University of Michigan School of Music, where he provided cello instruction to 10 undergraduate and graduate students.  Please visit www.thecellodoctor.com for more information.