Kenneth Olsen is Assistant Principal Cellist (No. 2 Cellist) for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and one of the most successful musicians to come out of the South Colonie music program. His talents as an elite musician have taken him all over the globe  Olsen began playing cello as a third-grade student at Shaker Road Elementary School. When he was a senior at Colonie Central High School he was already performing on the national level with live appearances on NPR and at the Aspen Music Festival. In fact, he missed his own high school graduation because he was performing in Cuba that weekend.

He was accepted into the Chicago Symphony in 2005 at the age of 24, becoming the youngest member in the orchestra at that time. He is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and a winner of the school’s prestigious concerto competition. His other awards include first prize in the Nakamichi Cello Competition at the Aspen Music Festival and second prize at the 2002 Holland-America Music Society Competition. His teachers have included Richard Aaron at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Joel Krosnick at New York’s Juilliard School of Music and Luis Garcia-Renart at Bard College. He also has been a participant at the Steans Institute for Young Artists (the Ravinia Festival’s professional studies program for young musicians) and at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute. Olsen has been on the faculty of Northwestern University and Roosevelt University. He is a founding member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, a conductorless string orchestra comprised of young musicians from orchestras and ensembles all over the country.

As a member of the Civitas Ensemble, Olsen is a musical ambassador in the Chicago area and role model for youth, providing musical appreciation to young audiences and musical healing to those with limited access to classical music. In 2008, Olsen performed a world premiere with the Albany Symphony Orchestra. While in the area he took time to meet with, perform for, and encourage South Colonie music students.