About Cory

Cellist Cory Blais is a performer, studio musician, and teacher based in Austin, Texas. Since moving to Austin in 2016, he’s performed with the greater part of Central Texas’ orchestras, contemporary music ensembles, and chamber music concert series.

 

Cory is a founding member of Austin Camerata, a chamber music organization known for performance augmenting artistic collaborations. His work with Austin Camerata led to regularly featured appearances with Austin's contemporary ballet company, Ventana Ballet, where performances pair choreography with music for solo cello and chamber ensembles. Recent solo appearances with Ventana Ballet incorporate dance alongside his performances of the Kodaly Cello Sonata, Cassado Cello Suite, the Bach Cello Suites, Andrea Casarrubios' “SEVEN”, as well as many of his own arrangements of well-known classical repertoire. 

 

Cory has performed with the Houston Symphony, Austin Symphony, Austin Unconducted, Waco Symphony, and the Central Texas Philharmonic. He formerly served as principal cellist for the Temple Symphony Orchestra and Temple Symphony String Quartet. As a chamber musician, Cory  performs mostly in string quartets through Austin Camerata, but has also performed with the Austin Chamber Music Center, Beerthoven Concert Series, Candlelight Concert Series, and the Absolute Music Chamber Series in Lansing, Michigan.

 

Passionate about music education, Cory teaches private cello lessons and orchestral cello section classes in various schools throughout Central Texas. He's served as cello faculty for organizations including the Austin Chamber Music Center’s Young Artist Workshop and Adult Academy, The American Artists Project, and The University of Texas String Project.

 

Cory has a master’s degree in music from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied under Bion Tsang. His bachelor’s degree is from The Ohio State University, where he studied under Mark Rudoff.