Lily Stern

Lily Stern is a cellist from Santa Monica, California. Her approach to concert programming and performance is informed by her studies in cognitive science and by the conviction that empathy is essential to offering audiences a transformative experience. Passionate about interdisciplinary collaboration, she seeks to push beyond the traditional boundaries of how classical music is presented. Lily studied music and psychology through the dual-degree program at Tufts University and the New England Conservatory as a National Merit Scholar, under the guidance of Yeesun Kim.

With an active career in the United States and internationally, her recent engagements include performances with the Handel and Haydn Society at Boston Symphony Hall, at the Oslo Kammermusikkfestival alongside the Danish String Quartet, and at the American Conservatory of Fontainebleau.

Lily joins the Fondation des États-Unis as a Fulbright–Harriet Hale Woolley Scholar to study the cello works and artistic trajectories of four French women composers: Marie Jaëll, Rita Strohl, Nadia Boulanger, and Betsy Jolas. The educational concerts presented at the conclusion of her studies will incorporate audience-engagement techniques, highlighting the role of empathy in creating a meaningful connection between listener and composer. She will study with Anssi Karttunen and Diana Ligeti at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and the CRR de Rueil-Malmaison.