Cellist from the Midwest Has Big Musical Dreams
Round Top Festival Institute’s summer music festival attracts some of the top orchestra music students from around the world, but not all of them want to make their name in orchestra.
Ella Bondar, a 20-year-old cellist from Des Plaines, Illinois, has other plans.
Bondar began playing piano at a young age and started learning the cello in middle school.
“I wanted to play the violin, but my aunt said I would probably get more scholarships with the cello,” Bondar said. “She was right. That’s not really the reason I started playing, but it brought me to the instrument. There’s no other way I could be living my life.”
Bondar said she aspires for a solo career.
“I’m really a solo performer,” she said. “I like collaborating with singer-songwriters, pit playing for ballet or Broadway where there’s a smaller cello section, or sometimes in Broadway you’re the only cellist. That’s kind of preferable for me.”
Bondar said she sees more opportunity outside of the orchestra world.
“Classical music is my soul food, my backbone, but to be in classical music and have your income depend solely on performances, that’s a very hard way to live,” she said.
When asked about her favorite popular songs with cello, Bondar responded, “The ones I play in.”
“The cello is an underutilized instrument, “ she said. “There are some popular pieces that use it, but not to the advantage that I feel like I could be. I like rap and hip-hop, so I feel like its something I could invest in composing.
“A lot of alternative rock, indie, so much could be done,” Bondar said.
Bondar compared learning classical music to learning Latin.
“You learn about how all languages are structured,” she said. “Learning classical music is a lot like that. You learn classical music and you can play anything.
“There’s so much you can do – you can be a very talented, virtuosic musician and not play in orchestra,” she said. “In fact, people who play in orchestra make up a very small percentage of all the musicians who play in the world.”
Bondar said the Festival is making her a better musician.
“The things I’m learning here are really intimidating,” she said. “I’ve been getting a lot of perspective here. It’s a spiritual moment - all of the experience and knowledge that’s out there, the level of intellect that needs to be achieved to be considered for the roles and career opportunities I wish to be a part of.”
Bondar spoke about the things she wants to take away from this festival:
“It’s not something I learned from this festival but its something that this festival definitely reinforces: when you’re at the top of one level, you’re at the bottom of the next,” she said.
“You should never be satisfied with your playing,” she added. “You should always be wanting more. You should know when you’re doing well, because I think a lot of musicians have a hard time validating themselves for doing a good job. But you’re never done. If you’re done, you die. That may sound harsh, but its very intense for me. It’s not a hobby. It’s not a career. It’s a lifestyle. There’s nothing else I could be doing with my life.