"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to remain silent"
—Victor Hugo
Biography
Boston-based Parisian cellist Velléda Miragias has received critical acclaim from le Confolentais for her "impeccable technical mastery, [and] strong expression," and currently enjoys a diverse career as a freelance solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, educator, and entrepreneur across the United States, Europe, and Asia. A French native, Ms. Miragias studied at the Conservatoire National de Boulogne and Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris rue de Madrid, where she won first prizes in cello performance, chamber music, and theory—receiving unanimous decisions of the jury for chamber music and theory. Following her European studies, she earned Indiana University's prestigious Performer Diploma as a student of Iseut Chuat and János Starker, and a Master of Music from Boston University.
Ms. Miragias is the recipient of France's coveted Ministry of Culture Award, a first-prize winner of the Prix de la ville d'Epernay string competition, and has participated in the Festival de violoncelle de Beauvais and the Festival d'Aix-en Provence, where she performed with violinist Renaud Capuçon and cellists János Starker, Iseut Chuat, and Jian Wang. She made her concerto debut at the age of 19, performing the Haydn Concerto in D Major with the Lourmarin Youth Symphony in France, and has had the honor of performing in the public master classes of iconic string pedagogues Isaac Stern, Natalia Gutman, and Anner Bylsma, in addition to studying conducting with Jean-Sébastien Béreau in Paris.
A committed educator, Ms. Miragias is instructor of cello at Phillips Exeter Academy and cofounder of Artisan Music Studio and Artisan Childcare Center, a comprehensive music-immersion program for infants through preschoolers. Additionally, she serves on the faculties of New England Conservatory's Preparatory School and the Rivers School Conservatory, and is an active string coach at Tufts University and with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. In summer 2024, she serves on the faculty of the International Academy of Music in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana in Italy's Tuscany region. Ms. Miragias's teaching philosophy encourages the development of well-rounded artistic personalities through a personalized curricula focused on instrumental technique, music theory, solfège, rhythm, and Alexander Technique principles to provide a holistic approach to everyday practice and performance that allows students to develop an acute awareness of the body's needs while nurturing their individual musical voices.
Ms. Miragias is an active chamber musician throughout the Greater Boston area and beyond. One of the founding members of the Craft Ensemble and the Trio Primavera, she also performs with the United Nations Chamber Music Society, with the pianist Mika Tanaka as Duo Terre de Sienne, as well as a number of regional chamber-music ensembles and as part of the Stoneham Chamber Music Series. As a member of the Boston Philharmonic Quartet, she has helped to raise vital funds supporting that orchestra.
As an orchestral performer, Ms. Miragias is currently associate principal with the Boston Philharmonic, assistant principal with the Cape Symphony, and regularly performs and records with the Handel and Haydn Society, the Grammy Award–winning Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP/sound), Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Baroque, L'Académie, Portland Symphony, Odyssey Opera, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Les Bostonades, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, and at the Monadnock Music Festival.
Ms. Miragias is a 2021–22 musician in residence with the Boston Public Library and a principal collaborator with Giovanna Confalone on the Mel Bonis Project, a nonprofit collaborative dedicated to disseminating the work and histories of 19th-century French women composers.
Photo by Robert Torres