Wesley Skinner

Artist Bio

As a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University, Cellist Wesley Skinner is completing a DMA having served as the Teaching Assistant of Tom Landschoot. Additionally, Wesley holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Melissa Kraut and later joined the preparatory faculty. Wesley’s solo competition wins include the 2014 Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition, 2015 Paducah Symphony Young Artist Competition (KY), 2015 Tennessee Cello Workshop, 2015 Lewisville Lake Symphony International String Competition (TX), and the 2016 ASU Concerto Competition. As an active chamber musician, he served as founding member of the Laniakea String Quartet which won first prize in The (2019) Hong Kong International Chamber Music Competition. As a composer, Wesley won the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 ariZoni Theater Awards of Excellence in Original Music Composition for his score of Frankenstein as well as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with TheaterWorks in Peoria, AZ. As a trained instructor in the Suzuki method and music theory, Wesley utilizes his diverse experience to teach a range of student ages and styles in his private studio.