Hailing from Miami Florida, Indiana-based cellist Erica Ogihara is a passionate performer and teacher. Her repertoire ranges from works as recent as John Adams’ Fellow Traveller to familiar classics such as Franz Joseph Haydn’s beloved Opus 64 String Quartets. Her recent performance highlights include giving the New York City premier of Lisa Heffter’s Carbon Fiber String Quartet with the Continuum Chamber Collective, a musical group focused on performing underrepresented compositions. Erica’s concert programming balances traditional masterpieces with delightfully contemporary and undiscovered works. She has put together numerous chamber projects which have led to her participation in masterclasses with artists such as pianist Ursula Oppens and violinist Ida Kavafian. Heard as a soloist with orchestras including the Alhambra Symphony Orchestra and the Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra, Erica has also been a laureate at several competitions including the Walenstein Music Competition and the Artist Series of Sarasota Competition.

As an educator, Erica wishes to cultivate a love of music through her teaching and provide music education to as many people as possible. A Suzuki Association of the Americas registered instructor, she completed her teacher training in books 1-8 with Pam Devenport and books 9 and 10 with Tanya Carey. Selected as a 2021 Fellow at ArtistYear, the premier AmeriCorps program dedicated for artists, she taught music and cello to Colorado’s District I Schools through her service year. In addition, Erica taught cello lessons and group classes to young cellists at The School for Strings’ Start-Up Program and was a Morse Teaching Fellow and Gluck Community Engagement Fellow through The Juilliard School.

Erica began her studies on the cello at the age of 10 with Audrey Pilafian. She is pursuing her Doctorate in Cello Performance at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Brandon Vamos of the Pacifica Quartet. Erica completed her Master's Degree from The Juilliard School and also holds a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory. Her teachers include Darrett Adkins, Natasha Brofsky, Ross Harbaugh, and Judith Serkin. Erica plays on a 2019 cello by Colorado-based maker Alexander Tzankow, an endeavor made possible by the generous support by the Marks family through Juilliard’s Career Advancement Fellowship.