Join us in the Ballroom or on the patio (weather permitting) every Saturday afternoon from 2-5PM for a little live music - no cover charge.
Welcoming Eri Snowden-Rodríguez for the first time to The Birdfish Ballroom on Saturday, August 9th from 2-5pm. Expect to hear a classical cello set, a cover set on guitar of music by The Beatles, and a set of original music using effects and looper pedals with cello.
Eri Snowden-Rodríguez is a Venezuelan-American cellist, originally from Buffalo, New York. Since moving to Ohio in 2005 to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Eri has led a very active career as a performer and teaching artist in the regions of Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. They are the current principal cello of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and former principal cello of the Canton Symphony and Erie Philharmonic. Eri also performs in a variety of chamber music and recital settings within the community and abroad. Since 2015, they have toured nationally and internationally with Sphinx Virtuosi, a chamber orchestra composed of the nations' top Latine and Black string players. Eri has appeared as a performer and lecturer at many highly-regarded venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Kimmel Center, Sala São Paulo, Cleveland Museum of Art, and many others. Snowden-Rodríguez has also competed nationally and was a semi-finalist in the senior division at the Sphinx Competition in 2008 and 2011.
In addition to an active performance career, Eri is a passionate music educator and advocate for access, inclusion, equity and social justice in the classical music field. Snowden-Rodríguez is a member of the artist council for the Nation Alliance for Audition Support, an unprecedented national initiative to increase diversity in American orchestras, and they have served as an advisor on statements regarding racial justice for the League of American Orchestras. Eri was also a recipient of a grant in 2023 for their project Music for All, an initiative that aims to bring live music into marginalized communities, performing in juvenile correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and low-income assisted living centers. In addition to this work, they teach private lessons in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Eri also enjoys working in other musical genres outside of Western classical music, and has experience working with effects pedals and Ableton Live digital audio workstation. They enjoy improvisation and writing music of their own, as well as assisting other artists in their recording projects. Eri also plays other instruments for fun, including bass, guitar, cuatro (a Venezuelan folk guitar), drums, and a little bit of trombone! Eri holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in cello performance and Suzuki pedagogy from the world-renowned Cleveland Institute of Music. They currently reside in Akron, Ohio with partner, Samantha, their parrot, Gomez, and rescue tortoise, Crumb.