èßäAV

Born and raised in Toronto, cellist Alastair Eng is the Assistant Principal Cello of the Santa Fe Opera Company Orchestra, and has a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2017. Prior to joining the TSO he was the Associate Principal Cello of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra for seven seasons.

He has served as Guest Principal Cello with the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa, Canada), and has also performed with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (UK). Mr. Eng has worked extensively with the GRAMMY® Award–nominated chamber orchestra A Far Cry, and as a chamber musician he has made multiple appearances at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, as well as Ravinia Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, and Rockport Chamber Music Festival.

As an educator Mr. Eng has lectured and led cello and string sectionals for the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Boston Youth Philharmonic and the Taylor Performance Academy of The Royal Conservatory of Music.

When not performing, Alastair arranges music of all kinds for a wide variety of instrumentations. His scores have been heard across North America and Europe, in venues as varied as the Musikverein and Fenway Park. He has received commissions from violinist Augustin Hadelich, guitarist Pablo Villegas, ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, and A Far Cry, among many others. His arrangements have been called “sweet” (Boston Globe), “delightfully schmalzy” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer), and "serious and surreal" (Strings Magazine).

In his spare time Alastair and his wife, Ashley, enjoy going on adventures with their dog, Rigoletto.