Brent Davis

Brent Davis is a cellist in the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he received a B.A. in Music Performance with Highest Distinction. Brent was also a member of the Charlottesville Symphony, and regularly performed in several chamber ensembles, including Trio Sobrenna, the Jupiter Quartet, and the Radio Music Society.

Brent gave two full recitals during his fourth year at UVA: a Distinguished Major Program solo recital, featuring works by Mendelssohn, Cassadó, and Bach, and a recital with his piano trio, Trio
Sobrenna, marking the first-ever fourth year recital for a chamber ensemble at UVA. Brent has also performed at the University of Virginia Bicentennial Opening Ceremony and with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in Charlottesville.

He was a Miller Arts Scholar and a recipient of both the Undergraduate Award for Projects in the Arts and the Department of Music Recognition Award for his chamber music recital with Trio Sobrenna. Brent has also played in masterclasses with Misha Veselov of the Neave Trio, Wesley Baldwin of the University of Tennessee, and László Pólus of the University of Pécs.

In 2022, Brent traveled with several UVA students, alumni, and faculty to Budapest and Pécs, Hungary to perform Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence at the University of Pécs, furthering the partnership between the two schools. 

Brent's teachers have included Marion Baker and Professor Adam Carter, and highlights in his post-grad career have included sharing the stage with Yo-Yo Ma for a performance of Shostakovich's Cello Concerto and sitting principal with the Fairfax Symphony for their first-ever live-to-film concert (The Nightmare before Christmas).

My teaching philosophy is shaped by a lineage of musical knowledge - ideas and experiences passed down to me from my teachers, and from their teachers before them. I carry that tradition into every lesson, seeing myself as one link in a long chain of mentorship rather than a single voice in isolation.

I believe in constructive, encouraging feedback that builds students up and helps them discover what they're truly capable of. More than anything, I hope to cultivate a genuine love for music, the kind that stays with a person for life, long after our lessons together.

Underpinning all of this is a balance between technical rigor and expressive freedom. The mechanics of the cellist are incredibly important, but they should always be considered a medium through which students say something real with their playing. I work to develop both dimensions together, so that precision and expressivity always serve each other.