Instrument: Cello

Cellist Neal Cary has been a member of the Richmond Chamber Players since 1989, and is now the Artistic Director of that ensemble. He has been principal cellist with the Richmond Symphony since 1988 and has been on the Applied Music faculty at the College of William and Mary since 1991. In 1984 he joined the faculty of the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina, and has served as principal cellist since 1988. He has also served as principal cellist of the Williamsburg Symphony since 2002. In August of 2012, Cary joined the All-Star Orchestra, an orchestra comprised of some of the finest musicians in the United States. This orchestra has performed more than 40 orchestra concerts on PBS, and can also be heard online.

Prior to joining the Richmond Symphony, Cary was co-principal cellist of the Kansas City Philharmonic and assistant principal cellist of the Tulsa Philharmonic, the San Antonio Symphony, and the Denver Symphony orchestras. From 1994-98 he was on the adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University. While a student at Juilliard, he was a chamber music teaching assistant to Earl Carlyss and Claus Adam in 1980-81. While a student at Meadowmount during the summers of 1980 and 1981, he was a chamber music teaching assistant to Joseph Gingold. Neal Cary's major teachers have included Pat Ficarra, Robert Newkirk, Channing Robbins, and the world-renowned Leonard Rose. Cary holds a M.M. from The Juilliard School.

Cary’s notable recital appearances in the Richmond area include performances from memory of the 40 Popper Études and all the Bach Suites for Solo Cello. Cary has completed a performance edition of the Popper Études and is working on a companion book which explains how to practice them. He has also completed an unpublished edition of the Bach Suites for Solo Cello, based on the three surviving copies from Bach's manuscript. Concerto performances include nearly 50 performances of most of the major cello concertos, unusual works, and a world premiere with orchestras on the East Coast.

YouTube videos of Cary include a live performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto, a performance of the Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 2, a video lesson on the Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, performances of Celtic tunes, Vivaldi Concertos, and an arrangement by him for cello orchestra of the Sarabande from the Bach 6th Suite for solo cello.