Born in the small Louisiana city of Shreveport, cellist John-Henry Crawford has been lauded for his “polished charisma” and “singing sound” (Philadelphia Inquirer) and in 2019 was First Prize Winner of the IX International Carlos Prieto Cello Competition and named Young Artist of the Year by the Classical Recording Foundation.
At age 15, Crawford was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music and went on to complete an Artist Diploma at the Manhattan School of Music and a Masters of Music at The Juilliard School. He has appeared in recital and as concerto soloist in 25 states as well as Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Mexico, and Switzerland.
Crawford commands a strong Instagram presence, attracting many thousands of viewers to his project #The1000DayJourney, where he films daily videos from his practice and performances for over 55,000 followers (@cellocrawford).
His numerous competition prizes also include Young Artist in Strings for the National Federation of Music Clubs, Grand Prize and First Prize Cellist at the American String Teachers National Solo Competition, the Dallas Symphony’s Lynn Harrell Competition, the Hudson Valley Competition, and the Kingsville International Competition.
Crawford is from a musical family and performs on a rare 200-year old European cello smuggled out of Austria by his grandfather, Dr. Robert Popper who evaded Kristallnacht, and a French Tourte “L’Ainé” bow from 1790.