In his fifth decade with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, David Sanders is the last remaining member of the cello section of the CSO's legendary Principal Cello Frank Miller. Appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1974 by Sir Georg Solti at the age of 24, Sanders was the founder and president for 19 years of the Chicago Cello Society, as well as the editor of its newsletter, The Cello Scroll. In the spring of 2008, he helped organize and performed in a concert the Cello Society presented of 20 solo works of David Popper, a concert which included five cellists from the CSO. He has also given master classes and seminars on orchestral playing.
Sanders began playing cello at the age of 12 and started taking lessons at the age of 14 in high school in Miami, Florida. He made his solo debut less than two years later with the Miami Symphonic Society Orchestra. He was a scholarship student at the University of Miami and Florida State University summer orchestra festivals, Eastern Music Festival and London Symphony Institute.
Sanders has held principal cello positions with the Northwestern University symphony and chamber orchestras, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Lake Forest Symphony and Florida Symphony. He also has played with the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, Grant Park Symphony and Milwaukee Symphony, and he has appeared as soloist with orchestras throughout the Midwest. As a chamber musician, he played with the Montagnana Trio for 25 years.
