Seattle native and Michigan-based cellist Andrew Gagiu maintains a dynamic career as a dedicated performer and music educator. He joined the Traverse City Philharmonic in 2025, and he also holds Section Cello positions with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra.
Andrew’s orchestral experience is extensive, including performances with the Grand Rapids, Rockford, Peoria, Holland, Eastern Connecticut, and Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestras, as well as Sinfonia da Camera.
He has also served as Guest Assistant Principal Cellist with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and Guest Principal Cellist for the Elkhart County Symphony Orchestra.
As a teacher, Andrew has served as Cello Instructor with organizations including the YMI Suzuki School of Music, Illinois Community Music Academy, and Kalamazoo Kids in Tune. Currently a doctoral candidate (DMA) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, he holds degrees from The Hartt School (MM with Suzuki Pedagogy Emphasis) and Western Michigan University (BM). His major teachers and mentors include Daniel McDonough, Mihai Tetel, Bruce Uchimura, Lara Turner, Mary Walters, Blake Brasch, and Andrea Yun.
Andrew teaches private cello lessons out of his home in Grand Rapids (Forest Hills) and in middle and high schools in the Kent County School District.
In his free time, Andrew enjoys playing pickleball and disc golf, spending time with his wife, Teresa, and their tripod cat, Kelce, and aggressively rooting for the Mariners and the Seahawks.
Andrew plays on a 2018 Gary Garavaglia cello, Guarneri-model.