San Francisco Symphony Appoints New Principal Cellist

The first member to fill the role in 45 years, American cellist Rainer Eudeikis will join the ensemble from their 2022/23 season

For the first time since 1977, the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) welcomes a new principal cellist. Appointed by SFS music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, Rainer Eudeikis succeeds the late Michael Grebanier, who led the cello section from 1977 until his death in December 2019.

Eudeikis, 32, was previously principal cello of the Atlanta Symphony and Utah Symphony, as well as for the Mainly Mozart Festival and Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

Born in Texas, he began cello studies at age six. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Indiana University, and the Curtis Institute of Music, his mentors included Jurgen de Lemos, Richard Aaron, Eric Kim, Carter Brey, and Peter Wiley. A dedicated teacher, Eudeikis was invited to serve as artist-faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and Brevard Music Center.

“This will be my third major principal position,” Eudeikis told The SF Chronicle. “[In] every one of those instances, I was coming in after someone who had been there for a long time. So I’m accustomed to that dynamic,” he commented on his succeeding Grebanier.

“As long as everyone keeps an open mind and shares the common goal of just sounding like a great section and playing together, then I’m optimistic,” he added. “The section members were very welcoming to me. I’m looking forward to joining them.”

Eudeikis also joins additional new SFS members, violists Katarzyna Bryla-Weiss and Leonid Plashinov-Johnson, plus associate principal and E-flat clarinetist Matthew Griffith, who will all make their debut as official SFS musicians in September 2022.