Cellist Cory Blais is a performer, studio musician, and teacher based in Austin, Texas. Cory moved to Austin in 2016 and soon after became a founding member of Austin Camerata. This chamber music organization is known for performance augmenting artistic collaborations. Performing with Austin Camerata has led to regular featured appearances with Austin’s contemporary ballet company, Ventana Ballet. Collaborations with Ventana Ballet often pair choreography with music for solo cello, chamber ensemble, to small string orchestras. With Cory as soloist, Ventana Ballet has choreographed dance to his live performances of the Kodaly Cello Sonata, Cassado Cello Suite, Bach Cello Suites, and most recently, Andrea Casarrubios’ piece for solo cello, SEVEN. Cory serves as principal cellist for the Temple Symphony Orchestra and Temple Symphony String Quartet. Cory has also appeared in the cello sections of the Houston Symphony, Austin Symphony, Waco Symphony, and the Central Texas Philharmonic.
Cory is enthusiastic about his role as a music educator. He’s on faculty at the American Artists Project, Greater Austin Music Academy, and serves as a guest clinician for schools in the Austin area. Cory teaches private lessons from his home in north Austin as well as virtually over Zoom.
Cory earned a Master’s degree in music from The University of Texas at Austin where he studied with Bion Tsang. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University, studying with Mark Rudoff.