Calvin van zytveld
Calvin Van Zytveld is a blind cellist and composer. Currently a Ph.D. candidate in Musicology at Stanford University, his recent premieres include Slow Traveler for SSA choir (Peninsula Women’s Chorus), Paper Ritual for percussion trio (NEKO3), and A Study in Oblique and Contrary Motion for violin and cello (Distractfold). His music often engages acoustic and electronic sound, improvisation, and accessible text- or audio-based scores reflecting his lived experience with vision loss. In 2026, his compositions will be performed by ensembles such as Mosaik, Cut Circle, Plymouth Chamber Players, and Grand Rapids String Quartet.
Calvin studied composition with Steven Mackey, Donnacha Dennehy, Bright Sheng, and Mark Applebaum. As a cellist, he has performed in Canada, Sweden, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain, and China and played with such musicians and ensembles as Gustavo Dudamel, Robert Spano, Ludovic Morlot, Per Tengstrand, the Richardson Chamber Players, and the English Concert.
Together with violinists Paolo Dara and Karisa Chiu, Calvin co-directs the Plymouth Chamber Players, a grassroots chamber series in Michigan. Founded in 2016, the series, which is free and open to the public, regularly features players from top U.S. ensembles such as the Chicago, Atlanta, and Houston Symphony Orchestras, the Galvin Cello Quartet, and the Callisto Quartet. He and vocalist Lemon Guo form the psychedelic folk duo, The Last Cicada.