Ian Maksin

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Kevin Floerke

A close-up of Ian Maksin.

Ian Maksin

Ian Maskin seemingly does it all: plays a variety of instruments, sings music from around the world in 30 languages, and has collaborated with artists ranging from Andrea Bocelli to Snoop Dogg. Maksin’s focus as a solo artist is composing and arranging for the cello; on the 2023 album Amor Renatus, Maksin uses a looping pedal to create a one-man ensemble, with stunning results. He’ll play music from the album and other songs as part of the “Cello for Peace Tour,” with a portion of ticket sales going to relief efforts in Ukraine.

Dec. 6 update: Tonight's Ian Maksin concert has been postponed until Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 7:00pm.

media release: Arts + Literature Laboratory welcomes internationally acclaimed cellist and composer Ian Maksin for his Cello for Peace Tour on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at 7:00pm. Portion of the proceeds from ticket and CD sales will be donated to humanitarian relief funds that help civilians in areas affected by the war in Ukraine. 

Special advance reserved seating in the first two rows will be $45.00. These reserved seats must be purchased online before 5:00p on December 6.

General admission $35.00, ALL Members $30.00, Student with ID $21.00

Tickets available online at Brown Paper Tickets.

When words fail, music continues to speak. In light of recent world events, Ian Maksin has decided to continue his Cello for Peace Tour. In these concerts he will perform music from his most recent release, Amor Renatus (Rebirth of Love) as well as love songs in Arabic and Hebrew, Farsi and Ladino, Turkish and Armenian, Ukranian and Russian in an attempt to reunite the world and create peace through music.

Russian-born Chicago-based cellist and composer Ian Maksin has gained international recognition for his beautiful tone, his own unique innovative style of playing the instrument and for taking the cello well outside its conventional role. As a soloist, he gives more than two hundred public performances annually in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

Born in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, Maksin began playing the cello at age six at the Special School for Gifted Children of the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory. At age seventeen he came to the United States to attend the Manhattan School of Music in New York City and later became the principal cellist of the New World Symphony, America’s one-of-a-kind training orchestra under direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. During that time he had an opportunity to receive personal mentorship from such artists as Lynn Harrell, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Bernard Greenhouse, and many others.

Apart from being highly regarded as a classical artist, Maksin collaborates with other artists in a variety of musical genres: jazz, blues, flamenco, rock, R&B and world music, blending many styles together using cello as the common denominator. He can often be heard and seen in collaborative projects with artists from different corners of the globe: Morocco, Cuba, Serbia, Iran, Pakistan, India, Spain, Mexico, Japan, just to name a few. As a guest artist, he has performed and recorded with such artists as Andrea Bocelli, P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan and Barry Gibb. He has also opened performances for Sting and his guitarist Dominic Miller.