Music-lovers will be able to indulge in the first on-campus festival to feed their musical appetites during TCU CelloFest today through Friday.The music department will host TCU CelloFest, a three-day event that celebrates the cello.

“I love the cello,” said Belinda Viesca, a graduate student and a teaching assistant who has played the cello for 17 years. “Its tone is closest to the human voice, and it’s very touching. It’s the perfect way of communication with no language barrier – just emotions and feelings.”

Jesus Castro-Balbi said he has been preparing for CelloFest since Fall 2005.

“This is a forum for all music-lovers to find information,” Castro-Balbi said. “It will be a world-class event and an opportunity to hear great artists right at home.”

CelloFest will feature panel discussions, book presentations, workshops and master classes taught by world-renowned guest artists, all in PepsiCo Recital Hall, said Jesus Castro-Balbi, artistic director for CelloFest.

Guest artists include cellist and author Carlos Prieto, Harold Martina and Dallas and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestras’ principal cellists Christopher Adkins and Karen Basrak, Castro-Balbi said.

Fifteen students from different universities and TCU were invited to attend the master classes, where one student will spend an hour with the teacher, while others watch and learn from the audience.

Master classes will be taught by Aldo Parisot, faculty cellist at Yale University, and TCU faculty members Jesus Castro-Balbi and Bion Tsang.

Students had to audition for the master classes by performing two different pieces of cello music.

“This is a great opportunity to be taught by ‘masters of the art,'” Viesca said. “I am so excited to spend that much time with the artist and to learn by watching others play.”

The Wednesday evening concert, “TCU Strings,” will showcase the TCU String Orchestra and Cello Ensemble composed of 12 students. Faculty will also perform.

CelloFest will also integrate the new Texas Cello Society onto campus and premiere the new release of the Lin/Castro-Balbi Duo compact disc, Castro-Balbi said.

CelloFest will conclude with a concert by the Grammy-nominated “The Yale Cellos” who have performed in France, England, Korea and twice at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Casey Carruth, a junior music education major, said he wishes the festival would last throughout the weekend.

“I love music, it’s my passion,” Carruth said. “Cello music is beautiful, and any way to get involved with music is just wonderful.