"...a seductive performance of Heitor Villa-Lobos' 'Bachiana Brasileiras No.5' by soprano Audrey Luna and the eight cellos (!) of the Tarab Cello Ensemble."
- Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press,
Detroit MI

"...the Tarab Cello Ensemble gives a heart-rendering reading of the octet, Broken Cries."
- John Pitcher, Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester NY

"... a masterful concert of nothing but music written in the twenty-first century ... Nine diverse pieces all executed magnificently... the eight cellists playing as if they have been performing for many years."
- Koren Cowgill, Classical New Jersey Society Journal

Recognized for its artistic creativity, the Tarab Cello Ensemble is dedicated to the commissioning and performance of twenty-first century music written for eight cellos by American composers, with the overall goal of establishing a vital contemporary repertoire for this richly deserving instrumentation. Since its inception in 2000, the ensemble has premiered over twenty works. Its repertoire includes such works as Pierre Boulez' Messagesquisse, Arvo Pärt's Fratres, Augusta Read Thomas’ Blizzard in Paradise and Luciano Berio's Korot.

The ensemble has commissioned works from Larry Bell, Caleb Burhans, Garrett Byrnes, Dennis DeSantis, David Liptak, Brad Lubman, Gregory Mertl, Joe Michaels, Sam Pellman, Martin Scherzinger, Aaron Travers, and Dan Trueman.

Tarab Cello Ensemble has performed concerts in Michigan, New England, New Jersey, New York, Florida, and France; their broadcast performances have included those for public radio stations WMUK (Kalamazoo, MI), WMBR (Cambridge, MA), WXXI (Rochester, NY), WCNY (Syracuse, NY) and WGDR (Plainfield, VT). Recently the ensemble gave the premiere of Silueta como Sirena for voice, eight cellos, and orchestra; written by Mexican-born composer, Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon. The event took place in NYC, and was performed with the Riverside Symphony Orchestra under the direction of George Rothman.

The Tarab Cello Ensemble has been a guest ensemble in residency at Princeton University, Patel Conservatory, and at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

The Ensemble was awarded a grant from the Howard Hanson Institute for American Music for its accomplishments in the performance and creation of contemporary American music, a grant from the Foreman Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts, and a grant from the Fromm Foundation. The Ensemble has recorded on Bridge Records and Albany Records.

The members of the Tarab Cello Ensemble are Annie Barley, Elizabeth Brown, Adam Carter, Alex Greenbaum, Susannah Kelly,
Kevin McFarland, Michael Midlarsky, and Florent Renard-Payen, founder.