Sydney Tasker

First-Place winner of the Jackie McGehee Young Artists’ Competition in strings, cellist Sydney Tasker, age 12, lives in Albuquerque with her parents, violinist younger sister, and cellist-in-the-bud younger brother. She is an eighth grader at Desert Ridge Middle School. Her cello path began at age 3 with teacher Lisa Collins. She currently studies with Brittany Gardner. Asked about her favorite performer, Mstislav Rostropovich or Yo-Yo Ma, she chose the one she could pronounce. She is a voracious reader, a science enthusiast, and a confident-enough cook to take treats to the neighbors. A true multi-tasker, she may be the only Albuquerque cellist who is also a Nutcracker ballerina (fifth Christmas in 2024) and a sidewalk snow-cone proprietor. Sydney performed with the New Mexico Philharmonic at age 10 and enjoys her position as principal cellist in the Desert Ridge orchestra.