Wytold

Wytold plays an electric cello with two extra strings allowing him to capture the depth and power of a stand-up bass, the rich tonal timbre of the acoustic cello, and the bright crispness of violin solos and harmonies. He records his live playing on stage using a foot pedal and laptop to create his own rock-orchestral arrangements that have been featured in film, theater, dance, and with the National Symphony Orchestra. Growing up in northern Virginia with interweaving passions for youth orchestra, powerful guitar solos, Bach cello suites, and popular radio songs from the ‘90s and 2000s, Wytold’s original music celebrates classical technique hand-in-hand with modern grooves, improv, and rhythms of pop, rock, jazz, and world styles. Using electronic edge alongside acoustic harmonies and double-stop grit, Wytold’s electrified-chamber sound energizes rock clubs as much as it inspires reflective audiences in the concert hall.

Wytold is a DC-based composer and cellist who has performed his original compositions with the National Symphony Orchestra several years in a row in collaboration with GRAMMY-nominated progressive hip-hop artist Christylez Bacon. Wytold's music is featured in the Sundance award-winning and EMMY-nominated film, Blood Brother, the recently released award-winning documentary, New Chefs on the Block, and the critically acclaimed Woolly Mammoth Theater production of "An Octoroon". His newly released album, Fireflies, Fairies & Squids" ranked in the Top Ten RMR World Music Radio Chart for 13 weeks in a row, with “Giant Squids” at #1 for 6 weeks. Wytold is also an active composer for the contemporary dance company, Christopher K Morgan & Artists (CKM&A). Wytold was in residence with CKM&A at the Maui Cultural Center in Hawaii to create Pohaku, a piece that explores historical and current interactions between western and native Hawaiian cultures. He has toured nationally with CKM&A in Hawaii, California, New York, and Minnesota.

Wytold has regularly performed for 5 years at Walter Reed Military Hospital and co-leads workshops that help Veterans and family members heal through creating music at USOs located at Walter Reed and Fort Belvoir. He is a board member of the newly established non-profit organization, Community Building Art Works (CBAW), which creates broader dialogue about Veterans and other social issues through art, music, and writing. In January 2017, he was joined by Metropolitan Opera violinist Patmore Lewis to perform Wytold's live musical score for "We Are Not Done Yet", an evening of Veteran group poetry about war and PTSD directed and produced by EMMY-nominated actor Jeffrey Wright at the Shakespeare Lansburgh Theater. Wytold also leads educational workshops for elementary, middle and high schools through Artivate and for college students through Degy Entertainment. He gave a TEDx performance discussing the relationship between his six-string electric cello compositions and classical and popular music. In 2015, he gave a sold-out performance titled "Biggie, Beethoven, Busta, and Bach" which blended classically-inspired instrumental covers of popular rap songs with remixes of well-known classical themes.

Wytold is an NS Design featured artist, recent Strathmore Artist in Residence, and a recipient of several grant awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. Wytold was also selected to study and collaborate with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble in their 2015 Global Musician Workshop, and the Wytold Ensemble was selected as one of the top 5 finalists in the 21st Century Musician Emerging Artist Ensemble Competition.

Other recent performances include: Sundance Film Festival, the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the French Embassy, the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, the Ordway Theater in St. Paul, ODC Theater in San Francisco, the National Geographic Museum, the Strathmore Performing Arts Center, the Levine School of Music, the Phillips Collection, Sydney-Harman Hall, the DC Jazz Festival, the Clarice Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the Atlas Performing Arts Center, and the National Cherry Blossom Festival, among many other venues.