Atticus Mellor-Goldman graduated from PCM in 2015 after studying cello and chamber music with Andrew Cook. That same year, his string quartet, Incendium Quartet, won gold in the Strings Junior Division at the 2015 Fischoff Competition. He went on to study cello at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings then obtained his master’s degree from Yale. Since then, he’s had a variety of music experiences, performing on NPR’s “From the Top”  and American Public Media’s “Performance Today”. He’s currently a cellist for the Air Force Strings and organizes house concerts with his wife, Minji.

This interview was done on 7/11/24 and has been edited for length and clarity.

You have a variety of musical experiences playing around the world and in a variety of notable events and venues. What have been the most memorable experiences and why?I’ve always loved going to Europe and Germany for festivals and I’ve also had great experiences at some music festivals in the U.S. But it’s interesting because they’re classical music festivals which are often encapsulating and insular experiences. Those are great but it’s very different from my current work playing for the Air Force Strings where we’ve been doing a lot of cool performances playing for different world leaders. We just performed at the NATO Summit. It’s amazing to be so close to influential people and be a part of those events.

So what motivated you to join the Air Force Strings and what have been some highlights of this experience?
It was 2021, I was finishing up my master’s at Yale and wanted a job. It was the first audition that appeared on any orchestra audition list and I had no idea what a military band was. After looking into it, I found so many positives in terms of salary benefits and having a full-time job as a musician so I decided to go for it. It’s going well, it’s a really unique job.

Our group is about 17 strings but sometimes we work with the jazz band, concert band, singers, etc. When we play by ourselves, we play arrangements of bluegrass tunes, country tunes, rock, and pop because we’re there to represent America playing for presidents, dignitaries, and officials. That type of music is really fun, but I grew up learning classical music and preparing for an orchestra so I look to find my classical music inspiration elsewhere. The job actually allows for time to do other things outside of work so I’ve been playing chamber music with friends, playing a piano/cello duo with my wife, and putting on house concerts.

Can you talk about the Music We Love program you and your wife, Minji set up?
Minji and I wanted to do something meaningful so we set up a house concert in October of 2022 to create awareness and raise money for Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) because I have a family member whose kid was diagnosed with it. And it was very successful. We raised almost $6,000. It was a smaller venue but you could watch it online. The house concert series is called the Emerson Avenue Salon Series and it’s run by two people, Bill and Jackie, and they’re super generous. They’ve run these house concerts for 30 years and matched all the donations.

What are your current goals or plans for the future?
It’s always a process of figuring out how you want to live the rest of your life. It depends on how long I stay in the Air Force Strings but then I have to decide if I want to instead audition for an orchestra. There are pros and cons to everything, so it’s just about figuring out what makes me happy.

Who are some of your musical influences?
I’ve always loved some of the older cellists from the 30s and 40s like Gregor Piatigorsky and Emanuel Feuermann. But I’ve really grown to love Yo-Yo Ma. When I was a dumb high schooler, I didn’t like some of his recordings, but in the past six years that I’ve been listening to him, I’ve grown to really respect him as an incredible musician and as an amazing person for what he’s done for the world.

In terms of my personal life, my first two teachers were big influences. Andrew Cook from PCM was great because he really pushed me when I was a dumb high schooler and not practicing, and Gwyneth Bravo, who got me to enjoy playing music.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
I enjoyed my time at PCM a lot, especially the chamber music intensive that we did in the summers. I also enjoyed working with Andrew Cook because I really loved his teaching.