Romanian-born cellist Mihail Jojatu joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s cello section in 2001 and became fourth chair at the start of the 2003-04 season. Mihail studied at the Bucharest Academy of Music before coming to the United States in 1996. He then attended The Boston Conservatory, where he studied with former BSO cellist Ronald Feldman, and worked privately with Bernard Greenhouse of the Beaux Arts Trio. He also studied with BSO principal cellist Jules Eskin at Boston University.

Mihail has collaborated with such prestigious artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Giovanni Solima, Yefim Bronfman, Paul Lewis, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Peter Serkin, Lars Vogt, Sarah Chang, Glenn Dicterow, Gil Shaham, members of the Juilliard and Muir string quartets, and Seiji Ozawa, who asked him to substitute for Mstislav Rostropovich in rehearsing the Dvořák Cello Concerto with the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC) Orchestra. A winner of Boston University’s concerto competition (subsequently appearing as soloist with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra), he also won first prize in the Aria Concerto Competition at The Boston Conservatory and was awarded the Carl Zeise Memorial Prize in his second year as a TMC Fellow. Mihail now serves on the faculty of Boston University.

Recent solo appearances include concerto performances with the New Bedford Symphony, Berkshire Symphony, Longwood Symphony, Radio Symphony Orchestra of Bucharest (under Sergiu Comissiona), Indian Hill Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops. Mihail has given master classes and performed extensively in Romania, Japan and the United States (Tanglewood, New World Symphony and Boston) He was invited to play at Senator Edward Kennedy’s memorial service in 2009 with the BSO Chamber Players. He gave the Boston Pops premiere of Friedrich Gulda’s concerto for cello and wind orchestra in June 2011.

Along with three of his colleagues from the BSO cello section, Mihail is a founding member of the Boston Cello Quartet (BSQ), which opened for the Grammy Award-wining band Train at Tanglewood in August 2011. In September 2013, the BCQ performed at Fenway Park in honor of baseball legend Mariano Rivera. www.bostoncelloquartet.com