Cellist and composer Kendall Ramseur on a creative life of becoming

“One concerto looks outward to the formation of a nation, the other inward to the formation of the human spirit. Both are about becoming — what unfolds when we confront where we’ve been, move through uncertainty, and imagine who we might become.”

For cellist, composer and School of Music alumnus Kendall Ramseur (B.M. Cello, 2009), that exploration of becoming reaches from his earliest memories of music to his two new major concertos.

Finding his way to the cello

Ramseur grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where music filled his home. His mother, who had played clarinet in school, sang gospel as she moved through the house. His father, a Navy veteran and DJ, kept records in the front room. When they bought an upright piano, Ramseur began finding melodies and harmonies note by note. His piano teacher soon noticed that even when he played Mozart, he added his own flair, an early sign of his compositional voice.

In fifth grade, the cello’s soulful, voice-like quality reminded him of his mother’s singing. That year, he heard Yo-Yo Ma perform the Schumann Cello Concerto with the Charlotte Symphony and knew that this was the instrument he wanted to pursue.

Teachers Jonathan Sullivan and Charlotte Symphony cellist Janice Nelson nurtured his talent through middle and high school. Ramseur considered engineering, but music kept pulling him back.

When he asked Nelson if he had a real chance at a music career, her answer surprised him. “No, Kendall, you’re incredibly talented,” she explained, “but the profession could demand a constant fight for stability and worth.”

She asked him to sit with one question: “If you wake up and realize you can’t live without music, if you can’t imagine not doing it, then music is what you should pursue.” He woke the next morning certain that music was his path. Nelson’s response: “Go for it!”

An artistic home at UNCSA

Ramseur began college at UNC Greensboro, studying with cellist Brooks Whitehouse. When Whitehouse accepted a position at UNCSA, Ramseur researched the arts-focused school and followed his instructor to Winston-Salem.

At UNCSA, he found peers who shared his commitment to the arts. The cello studio became a family, and Whitehouse built a supportive, connected environment.

The Chancellor at the time, John Mauceri, also championed Ramseur’s work. When Mauceri conducted at the 50th Grammy Awards, he brought Ramseur and another student to Los Angeles to perform alongside six major artists.

Then, during Maya Angelou’s 80th birthday year, Ramseur wrote an original solo, “How Far I’ve Come,” for the poet and UNCSA board member. Mauceri helped connect them, and Ramseur was invited to perform the piece in Angelou’s living room.

Angelou was moved to tears and sang to him. As Ramseur left, her niece told him, “Kendall, while you were playing, there were parts of me being healed that I didn’t know needed healing.” The encounter crystallized his mission for music.

Sons of Serendip and “America’s Got Talent”

After UNCSA, Ramseur continued his studies at Boston University, then launched a solo career with a distinctive performance style combining vocals and cello. Within a year, he earned a Boston Music Award for Best Inspirational Artist of the Year.

Soon after, as he began feeling burnt out on a solo career, vocalist Micah Christian called Cordaro Rodriguez, Ramseur’s childhood friend and one of his former Boston University roommates, with an idea: Would Rodriguez, Ramseur and fellow roommate Mason Morton be interested in creating a group to audition for “America’s Got Talent?”

The idea became Sons of Serendip: Ramseur on cello, Rodriguez on piano, Morton on harp and Christian on lead vocals.

The quartet auditioned at Madison Square Garden in 2014 with Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know.” The performance carried them through round after round as viewers responded to the group’s emotional reinvention of familiar songs with classical instruments.

Sons of Serendip reached the finals, then toured internationally for more than eight years after that success. The group represented the United States at the World Expo in Dubai, opened for John Legend, performed with major orchestras and released several Billboard-charting albums.

By 2022, with a second son on the way, Ramseur wanted a more stable family life than the group’s demanding tour schedule allowed. He stepped away with his bandmates’ support and entered a new creative season.

Choosing a new creative path

Ramseur returned to solo performance and wrote prolifically for cello, voice, chamber ensembles and orchestra. Greater control of his schedule brought more time with his family and renewed artistic freedom.

He also joined Hatch, an organization that convenes innovators, disruptors, and creative leaders across diverse disciplines to foster positive systems change. At an Arizona summit, he heard PolicyLink CEO Michael McAfee speak about democracy and building institutions that serve everyone.

That year, Ramseur became Hatch’s music liaison, responsible for programming artists for the summit. One of those artists was pianist and composer Charlie Wilson III, known as BLKBOK (“Black Bach”).

During a rehearsal, Ramsuer suggested that he and Wilson write a concerto. Wilson shared the idea with McAfee, who offered a commission to the two artists within hours. Soon, Ramseur and Wilson had a contract with PolicyLink and began writing.

Two concertos, two ways of becoming

Ramseur and Wilson’s concerto premiered at the PolicyLink Summit in Washington, D.C., in August 2026 with a 70-piece orchestra and 40-person choir.

Ramseur helped build a diverse ensemble grounded in warmth, respect and collaboration. Musicians told them, “We received something today we didn’t know we needed,” and “We could feel the love in every measure.”

Meanwhile, studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary led him to Professor Wes Vanderlugt, whose work explores faith, theology and the arts. After hearing Ramseur’s music, Vanderlugt said, “Your music is incredible, and I love what you’re about. I would love it if we could partner on some type of long-form project.”

Vanderlugt first imagined a cello suite. Ramseur liked the idea, then thought, “A cello suite is cool ... but you know what’s cooler? A cello concerto.”

The project recently received an $80,000 grant from the Creative Arts Collective at Belmont University — his second major commission in less than a year. “I don’t believe in coincidences. It seems to be orchestrated,” Ramseur said.

The concerto, “Songs from the Wilderness,” is envisioned for a Charlotte Symphony premiere next summer. Ramseur played in its youth orchestra and once conducted the symphony, so returning would bring his journey full circle.

Advice for emerging artists

 “Network, network, network.” That is Ramseur’s advice for emerging artists, even as a self-described hardcore introvert. “You could write the most beautiful symphony in the world, but if you never release it, no one will ever know it existed,” he says.

His work spans Netflix trailers, television, film and podcasts. He scored all 10 episodes of “Holy Ghost Stories” and was featured in and scored an episode of the podcast “Superhumans,” which later won a Signal Award for Most Inspirational Podcast. He wants students to see that artistic careers are not confined to the practice room, and that sharing their work and connecting across disciplines can open unexpected doors.

Expanding the canvas

Ramseur is also a visual artist. He is developing an exhibition in which each painting would be paired with an original composition for solo cello or full orchestra, making the visual art and music inseparable. He envisions presenting each work in performance so audiences can experience the music created specifically for that artwork.

You can learn more about Ramseur on his website at www.kendallramseur.com.

By Rebecca Burkeen

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