Arne Zeller

Arne Zeller began playing the cello at the age of six and from the age of 14 was a junior student at the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre in the class of Prof. Peter Bruns. He received additional valuable musical impulses through masterclasses with Ivan Monighetti, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Jens Peter Maintz, Troels Svane, Jan Vogler and Frans Helmerson.

He has won numerous prizes at international competitions, including first prize as the youngest participant at the international cello competition ‘Anna Kull’ 2020 (Graz), first prize at the Gustav Mahler Cello Competition 2022 (Prague) and second prize at the 29th International Brahms Competition 2023 (Pörtschach).

In 2022 and 2023, he was invited by Jan Vogler to the ‘Meisterschüler - Meister’ workshop at Schloss Neuhardenberg and was selected as the youngest academy member for the 2023 Moritzburg Festival. He gained additional chamber music experience at international chamber music courses such as ‘Musique à Flaine’ in France and the ‘Geneva String Academy’ in Geneva.

At the age of 13, Arne made his debut as a soloist with Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, followed by performances with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Euro Symphony Orchestra and the Main Chamber Orchestra, among others. He has been a member of the international string ensemble ‘LGT Young Soloists’ since 2021.

Concert engagements have taken Arne to venues such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Vienna Musikverein, the Kurhaus Baden-Baden, the Elbphilharmonie, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg and the Alte Oper Frankfurt as well as to various festivals such as the Heidelberger Frühling, the Northern Lights Festival, the Moritzburgfestival and the Rheingau Musik Festival.

Arne Zeller is a scholarship holder of the German Foundation for Musical Life, the International Music Academy Liechtenstein, the Geneva String Academy, the Schloss Neuhardenberg Foundation and the Hans and Eugenia Jütting Foundation and is supported by the ‘Friends of Young Musicians Mainz/Wiesbaden’. In 2021 he received the sponsorship award of the city of Baden-Baden, in 2022 the Werner Stiefel Prize at the Carl Felsch Academy, in 2022 the Lichtenberg Music Prize and in 2024 the Martin Stadtfeld Prize.

He has been studying at Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson since October 2024. His studies are funded by the Dorothea Neuhaus Patronage.