Hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as the “ideal musician of the 21st Century”, Mike Block is a pioneering multi-genre cellist living in New York City. Mike is the singer, cellist and composer for the Mike Block Band, which features a unique mixture of original songs and instrumentals drawing upon multiple genres. In addition to the MBB, Mike performs with the Triboro Trio featuring contemporary arrangements of traditional and new folk music from around the world and he performs in a duo with Chinese Pipa virtuoso Yang Wei.

While studying at the Juilliard School, Mike joined Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble as its youngest member, and upon graduation in 2006, joined Grammy Award winner Mark O’Connor in his Appalachia Waltz Trio.

As a composer, Mike’s pieces have been performed at the Bremen MusikFest, Tribeca New Music Festival, and the MATA Festival in addition to his compositions for the MBB. This season, the Kimmel Center will premiere a work by Mike with the Absolute Ensemble through its new music series Fresh Ink.