Erica Snowden

Erica Snowden is Venezuelan-American cellist from Buffalo, New York. In 2005, she moved to Cleveland to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her primary teachers include Stephen Geber, Dr. Melissa Kraut, Peter Salaff, and the members of the Cavani String Quartet. Erica has since been a very active performer and teacher in the Greater Cleveland area. She is the principal cellist of the Canton Symphony, associate principal of the Erie Philharmonic, and a member of the Akron Symphony. Erica has also played principal cello in Cleveland's own Opera Circle and Opera Per Tutti.

In addition to her work as an orchestral musician, Erica performs in a variety of chamber music settings within the Greater Cleveland community. She has appeared in chamber performances at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance Hall, Cleveland Clinic, and the West Side Catholic Center. She is also a founding member of the Hudson Chamber Players, an collaborative of musicians who provide free concerts in Northeast Ohio during the summertime.

Miss Snowden has also participated and placed in several competitions including the Sphinx Competition, Silverman Scholarship Competition, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Scholarship Competition. In 2010, she was awarded the Dr. Bennett Levine Memorial Award in Chamber Music at the Cleveland Institute of Music for demonstrating excellence and leadership as a chamber musician. Miss Snowden holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music.