Randolph Fromme, who began his cello studies at age 5 with Pat D'Ercole in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, is an avid chamber musician whose collaborations include performances with Frederica von Stade, Donald and Vivian Weilerstein and guitarist Paul Galbraith. He has also performed in the San Francisco – based Other Minds festival, featuring the works of contemporary composers. Previous string quartets include Mendota, Oberon and Del Sol. Currently, he is performing recitals with his wife, Shu Li and recording audio and video of solo cello works for their website, frommeduo.com.

Studies include the San Francisco Conservatory, where he pursued chamber music primarily under Mark Sokol and cello with Clive Greensmith and Jean Michel Fonteneau. Additional degrees include bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, respectively; former instructors include Paul Kosower and Tanya Remenikova. Other musicians with whom he has studied or had master classes with include Gunther Schuller, Luca DiCecco, Young-Nam Kim, Robert Mann, Peter Howard, Joel Krosnick and Janos Starker.

He has performed in Garth Newel, Sandpoint and Round Top summer festivals and coached at Bravo! and San Diego chamber music workshops. Randolph currently instructs chamber music in San Francisco Conservatory’s preparatory division and teaches privately.

 

Shu Li, a native of Guiyang, China, began her musical studies at six with her father; only two years later, she began performing with her brother, also a pianist. Soon after, she was a winner of the Young National Music Competition, and her performances throughout her province were broadcast over the radio. She pursued her studies further in the conservatories of both Shanghai and Beijing with instructors Yan Lin and Guang-ren Zhao.

Among the honors she received in Beijing were those of being a finalist in the first National Piano Competition of China and as an accompanist in national cello and vocal competitions. While in Beijing, her performances were now broadcast by Beijing’s Central National station, and she was invited to perform on a train which traverses the Silk Road in Northwest China.

In 1990, she received a full scholarship to continue her studies at Syracuse University with Steven Heyman. Following the completion of her degree, she received further practical training at Eastman and was a participant at the Kent Blossom Festival, where she worked with members of the Miami Quartet and Cleveland Orchestra.
Most recently, she completed a master’s degree in accompaniment at the San Francisco Conservatory under pianist Tim Bach. While there, she played in master classes coached by the Weilerstein Trio and Robert Mann. Currently, she is an accompanist at the Conservatory and has an impressive studio of students in the Bay Area.

 

© Fromme Duo 2008