Hi Friends, Family and Patrons of the arts!

My name is Kristi Roller, and I’m a full-time master's student of performance and literature at the Eastman School of music. During the school year, I work two jobs on campus, at the ensemble library, and at a student office, to support myself during the semester. Music has been the center of my world for as long as I can remember, and I’ve dedicated my life to becoming the best musician I can be, not just for myself, but so I can one day give back to my community through performance and teaching.

This summer, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be accepted into several excellent summer programs. I’ll be attending the Texas Cello Workshop in June and working for two music festivals in North Carolina. On top of that, I’ve been accepted into the inaugural year of the Franconian Cello Festival in Nuremberg, Germany at the end of July.

At this festival, I’ll be studying with Ariel Barnes, the principal cellist of the Nuremberg Symphony, and I’ve been granted the incredible honor of playing a cello crafted by luthier Lothar Semmlinger. This is a rare and exciting opportunity that would make a meaningful impact on my musical growth and career!

Most of the costs for my summer have been covered through a combination of jobs, grants, and savings, but I’m still short on the tuition and housing for Franconian. The total cost is $2,028, which breaks down to $1,275 for tuition and $755 for housing for the two weeks I’ll be in Germany.

I’m humbly asking for help to close this final gap so I can take part in this fantastic experience that will not only further my cello education but also allow me to network with fantastic teachers that I will hopefully get to study with in a degree program in the future! Any amount, no matter how small, would mean the world to me. If you can’t give financially, simply sharing this page with others would be a tremendous help, as well as following my social media for all summer travel/concert livestream updates!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and support me in pursuing my dreams. I truly couldn’t do it without you!

With gratitude,

Kristi Roller

Click here to listen to one of the audition videos that got me accepted!