Siegfried Cavallini
From San José to Quebec City, music, languages and teaching have shaped a deeply human journey. As a cellist, educator and teacher, Siegfried Cavallini places listening, understanding and the pleasure of learning at the heart of everything he does.
Cello from childhood
Originally from San José, Costa Rica, Sigifredo Cavallini Solano, known as Siegfried Cavallini, discovered the cello at the age of seven through the Programa Juvenil de la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica. Music quickly became an essential part of his life.
After performing with the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil Nacional, he continued his cello studies in Costa Rica with Elena Kharina Anatolievna. These formative years allowed him to develop his instrumental technique, musicality and orchestral experience.
From Costa Rica to Quebec
In the late 1980s, Siegfried joined the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, where he worked as a section cellist during different periods, notably from 1989 to 1991 and again from 1998 to 2000.
After settling in Quebec in 1989, he continued his studies at Université Laval with Huguette Morin. He completed a master’s degree in cello performance and distinguished himself by winning the “Solo avec orchestre” competition in both 1991 and 1993.
Orchestras at home and abroad
Throughout his career, Siegfried has performed with numerous professional and semi-professional ensembles and orchestras in Quebec, Costa Rica and Panama. His musical journey has also taken him on several tours throughout Europe and Latin America as an orchestral cellist.
In Quebec, he has performed with the Orchestre symphonique de l’Estuaire in Rimouski and has served as principal cellist with both the Orchestre symphonique de Lévis and La Sinfonia de Québec.
A vocation for teaching
Teaching the cello has been an important part of Siegfried’s life for many years. He has taught at the Instituto Nacional de la Música in Costa Rica and at the MOA Centro para las Artes in David, Panama, before continuing his teaching activities in Quebec.
He joined the Cercle de musique de Cap-Rouge in the fall of 2014 and the Centre Musical Uni-Son in Sillery in 2016. He also teaches at Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy and continues his work as both a teacher and performer.
Languages, science and education
Siegfried’s journey extends well beyond music. Passionate about languages and education, he also holds a bachelor’s degree in teaching French as a foreign language, earned in 2011 at the University of Costa Rica.
He has extensive experience teaching French, first in Costa Rica in secondary schools and at the Canadian Institute of Costa Rica. Since 2021, he has also taught French as a foreign language in Quebec, including to international students and future immigrants, both in person and online.
His experience also includes private French instruction for students from several countries, Spanish instruction for Quebec students, and cello teaching in both French and Spanish. He also has training and experience teaching mathematics at the secondary-school level.
Connecting knowledge
This wide range of skills has shaped a teaching philosophy that is uniquely his own. Siegfried enjoys creating connections between music, languages, science and logic. He adapts his teaching to each student’s needs, objectives and learning style with rigour, patience and humanity.
VivaCello Québec
Today, in addition to his teaching activities and his position as principal cellist with La Sinfonia de Québec, Sigifredo conducts VivaCello Québec. He brings his experience as a cellist, orchestral musician and educator to the ensemble in a spirit of sharing, listening and the enjoyment of making music together.