Mike Block is a pioneering cello player, singer, composer and educator, hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as the "ideal musician of the 21st-Century." Passionate about cross-cultural collaboration through music, Block is committed to inspiring individuals and connecting communities. At home in a wide range of musical styles through a multi-genre approach to composition, performance and education, he seeks to inspire audiences and empower musicians to find joy in the full world of music. Acclaimed by the New York Times for his "vital rich-hued solo playing," Block's solo performances offer a rich mixture of core classical repertoire with original compositions.
Block is a member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble (SRE), having joined in 2005 while a student at The Juilliard School. Having toured extensively throughout the world with SRE, he has been featured as cello and vocal soloist, contributed arrangements and compositions and earned a Grammy Award in 2017 for the group’s album, Sing Me Home.
As an innovator, Block is among the first wave of cellists to adopt a strap in order to stand and move while playing. With The Block Strap, he was the first standing cellist to perform at Carnegie Hall. The New York Times characterized the performance as "Breathless ... half dance, half dare." As an educator, Block is passionate about creativity and collaboration and is the founding director of Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop and the Mike Block String Camp.
