Brenda Neece

About

Brenda Neece, DPhil (Oxon.), is a freelance artist and teacher based in Durham, NC. She enjoys experimenting with different cellos and recently worked with internationally renowned luthier John Pringle in the creation of a little 5-string cello she calls the "Scottish Wildcat." In addition to her modern instrument, she also plays a 5-string baroque cello and sometimes travels with her folding prakticello. Her area of research specialization is the history of the cello in Britain.  She studied cello with Fred Raimi at Duke while she did her undergraduate work at UNC-CH.  As part of her interdisciplinary major in music history, art history, and archaeology, she wrote an undergraduate honors thesis on the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century evolution of the cello.  She earned a master’s in cello performance at Auburn University and then went on for her musicology doctorate at the University of Oxford (Somerville College).  While in England she continued her cello studies with William Pleeth. For just over a decade, she helped establish the Duke University Musical Instrument Collections (DUMIC) as its first curator.

The poet, the artist, the musician, continues the quiet work of the centuries, building bridges of experience between people, reminding man of the universality of his feelings and desires and despairs.
~ President John F. Kennedy


The cello is my only weapon.
~ Pablo Casals

The cello is a hero.
~ Mstislav Rostropovich

We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda;
it is a form of truth.
~ President John F. Kennedy


I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft.
~ President John F. Kennedy


Their Thoughts

In just a few years as her student I have learned a ton!

Brenda is an awesome teacher! In just a few years as her student I have learned a ton! The lessons were great and we would...

In just a few years as her student I have learned a ton!

. . . a creative and caring teacher who brings out the best in her students

I took lessons with Brenda for several years, and learned a lot from her about musicianship and technique.  She was always upbeat and humorous, and...

. . . a creative and caring teacher who brings out the best in her students

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