TMA149 Members

Twenty-year-old cellist Mario Rodriguez McMillan was born in Mexico City. He grew up surrounded by music and began his own musical studies at the age of seven. He studied classical guitar at Escuela Superior de Música del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura, an acclaimed conservatory in Mexico. His love for music inspired him to reach proficiency at various instruments, including piano, drums, percussion, and trumpet. He eventually chose the cello because of its incredibly expressive qualities.

Mario was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in 2022, and was an award of excellence recipient and principal cellist during the 2023 session. He studied with renowned faculty including Sascha Goetzel, Blake Pouliot, David Hetherington, and Bryan Epperson. He was also principal cellist of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra for two seasons, and section cello for two seasons.

In 2022, Mario had his solo debut with the first movement of the Schumann Cello Concerto after winning the North York Concert Orchestra concerto competition. He has performed in masterclasses for world-class cellists Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Jean-Guihen Queyras, as well as Johannes Moser.
Mario is currently in his third year of undergrad studying cello performance with Paul Widner at the University of Toronto.