A member of the Philly Pops Orchestra since October 1986, George Atanasiu began his musical journey with his father on the violin at the age of 3, before switching to the cello at 9. Coming from a musical family, it was only natural to pursue music as a profession. He studied at the Romanian National University of Music, earning his Masters in Cello Performance and Ph. D. in Musicology. Additional postgraduate scholarship programs took him to Germany, where he was able to further his education in Weimar, Hannover, and Bayreuth. Upon the completion of his studies, he was appointed Associate Principal cellist of Romanian National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Principal cellist of the Sibiu Philharmonic.
After emigrating to the United States, George Atanasiu became principal cellist for the Garden State Philharmonic, South Jersey Symphony, and Space Coast Philharmonic in Brevard, Florida, as well as performing with the Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra, Philadelphia Opera Company, Philadelphia Concerto Soloists, Reading Symphony Orchestra, and Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, to name a few.
As a chamber musician Mr. Atanasiu has been a member of George Enescu Trio for more than 30 years, performing in prestigious venues and festivals on 4 continents. These include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Teresa Carreno in Caracas, Venezuela, the George Enescu Festival, Santander International Festival, and “Millenium in Musica“ Festival in Rome, as well as the Erato Ensemble series in Seoul, Korea.
For the last 25 years George has been principal conductor of Orvieto Festival of Strings Orchestra in Italy, and appeared as guest conductor in Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Venezuela, and his native Romania.
Dr. Atanasiu is frequently invited as a member of the jury in many solo and concerto competitions. He was President of the Jury for 12 years at the Anemos International Competition, in Rome Italy. Many of his students have been awarded prizes in international competitions in Europe and the United States and have performed as soloists with orchestras around the world.
