MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow and American classical cellist Alisa Weilerstein is a musical prodigy. The internationally celebrated artist discusses her first instruments (made by her grandmother!), her solo debut at age thirteen with the Cleveland Orchestra, and why she chose not to go directly to conservatory after high school. Alisa reminisces about performing at the White House and chuckles about receiving an apology from the President of the United States, as well as discusses her groundbreaking new solo concert series Fragments. Thanks to our good friends at Ravinia for helping to make this interview possible. Get your tickets here to see Alisa Weilerstein perform live at Ravinia on August 17th. Check out Alisa Weilerstein on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, or the web. Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram. Follow David on Instagram. You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web. The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper. Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman.  This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format. Episode copyright © 2023 Artful Narratives Media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.