Immunity Joshua Roman

• J.S. Bach (1685 - 1750): Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007:
• 1 Bach: Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prelude 02:35
• Allison Loggins-Hull (b. 1982): Stolen:
• 2 Loggins-Hull: Stolen 06:45
• Mark Summer (b. 1958): Julie-O:
• 3 Summer: Julie-O 03:54
• Caroline Shaw (b. 1982): in manus tuas:
• 4 Shaw: in manus tuas 08:34
• Krzysztof Penderecki (b. 1933 - 2020): Capriccio per Siegfried Palm:
• 5 Penderecki: Capriccio per Siegfried Palm 07:54
• Joshua Roman (b. 1983): Duet:
• 6 Roman: Duet 04:23
• George Crumb (1929 - 2022): Sonata for Solo Cello:
• 7 Crumb: Sonata for Solo Cello: I. Fantasia 04:09
• 8 Crumb: Sonata for Solo Cello: II. Tema Pastorale con variazioni 04:30
• 9 Crumb: Sonata for Solo Cello: III. Toccata 02:25
• Joshua Roman: Immunity:
• 10 Roman: Immunity 05:30
• Leonard Cohen (1934 - 2016): Hallelujah:
• 11 Cohen: Hallelujah 06:11
• Kansas: Dust In The Wind:
• 12 Kansas: Dust In The Wind 02:52
• Total Runtime 59:42

Info for Immunity

Inspired by a unique collaboration for Princeton University Concert's new series Healing With Music, Immunity is an intimate musical exploration of cellist Joshua Roman’s life-altering, inspiring experience of ongoing long COVID, with music ranging from J.S. Bach to George Crumb to Caroline Shaw, as well as Roman’s own compositions. The program combines performance and storytelling into an emotional journey, as the cellist confronts the impact of the illness and the limitations that nearly ended his career, before progressing through a period of doubt, struggle, refocus, and renewal, culminating in a profound acceptance of self and a deeper connection to what's most important in life.

Joshua Roman, cello

Joshua Roman
is a cello soloist and composer, hailed for his “effortlessly expressive tone… and playful zest for exploration” (The New York Times), as well as his “extraordinary technical and musical gifts" and “blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom… that goes straight to the heart" (The San Francisco Chronicle). His genre-bending programs and wide-ranging collaborations have grown out of an “enthusiasm for musical evolution that is as contagious as his love for the classics" (The Seattle Times).

Committed to bringing classical music to new audiences, Roman opened the acclaimed 2017 TED Conference — and his performance of the complete Bach Cello Suites after the 2016 U.S. presidential election was the most-viewed event in the history of TED’s social channels, with nearly a million live viewers. Roman has collaborated with world-class artists across genres and disciplines, including Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Tony-winner/MacArthur Genius Bill T. Jones, GRAMMY®-winning East African vocalist Somi, and Tony-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith.

As a soloist, Roman’s “exceptionally high quality of performances” (The Los Angeles Times) combine “the expressive control of Casals with the creative individuality and virtuoso flair of Hendrix himself” (Gramophone). He has performed with leading orchestras around the United States and the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, New World Symphony, Toronto Symphony, BBC Scottish, and Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, and he was principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony from age 22 to 24.

Roman’s singular 2024-25 season opens with the launch of his ambitious and deeply personal project Immunity, an intimate musical exploration of his life-altering experience of ongoing Long COVID, with music ranging from J.S. Bach to George Crumb to Caroline Shaw, as well as Roman’s own compositions. A recording of the full program will be released October 4 on Bright Shiny Things, coinciding with a tour where Roman will perform music from Immunity in Long COVID clinics across the United States, including New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, St. Louis, and more. By sharing music and community with other Long COVID patients, Roman aims to raise awareness of the condition and communicate the project's core message of finding strength in vulnerability.

Additional 2024-25 highlights include a national Trio tour with violinist Tessa Lark and double bassist Edgar Meyer, the world premiere of a new Cello Concerto composed by James Lee III with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, two Well-Being concerts with Carnegie Hall, a residency at Stanford University that will center around Immunity, concerto performances with the Pacific Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and Asheville Symphony, and solo recitals around the country.

Roman has long been a leader and innovator in his use of digital and social media, with projects like his Popper Etude videos amassing nearly two million views. His solo performance with the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall was viewed by 33 million people across almost 200 countries, with Yo-Yo Ma introducing him as “one of the great exemplars of the ideal 21st century musician.”

As a composer, Roman has been commissioned by Music Academy of the West, Illinois Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Girls Chorus, Grace Cathedral, and more, and he has written for the JACK Quartet, violinist Vadim Gluzman, and conductor David Danzmayr. Equally accomplished as an interpreter of the music of other contemporary composers, Roman has premiered works by Mason Bates, Reena Esmail, Timo Andres, Gabriela Lena Frank, Aaron Jay Kernis, Lisa Bielawa, and others. Roman also curated a forward-looking chamber music series at Town Hall in Seattle for 15 years, presenting artists like Jennifer Koh, JACK Quartet, Sō Percussion, and more.

A native of Oklahoma City, Roman began playing the cello at the age of three on a quarter-size instrument, and gave his first public recital at age 10. He went on to pursue his musical studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Richard Aaron and Desmond Hoebig, former principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra. Roman plays an 1830 Giovanni Francesco Pressenda on a generous loan through The Stradivari Society of Chicago.

This album contains no booklet.