Denielle Wilson is a musician and educator from Lithonia, Georgia.

She has taught privately and publicly, and performed in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings throughout the Atlanta, Chicago, and Charlotte metropolitan areas.
 

Her interest in a career as an orchestral musician began while spending five years in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program, studying with cellist Joel Dallow. In this program, she and other students with Black and/or Latinx backgrounds received an advanced music education from the ASO through lessons, performances, and scholarships in preparation for college-level music studies and eventually careers in Western classical music. She went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance and Music Education from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, with her primary mentors being Hans Jørgen Jensen and Wei Yu. While at NU, she played in the school’s Symphony Orchestra and the NU Cello Ensemble, as well as participated in chamber music groups coached by the Dover Quartet. 

More recently, Denielle completed her master’s degree through the Diversity Fellowship with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.

Denielle’s burden for community engagement began early in her journey as a musician. She and her two siblings, Danya and Cliff Jr., formed the Wilson Trio in 2007, a piano trio that has given free performances in and around Lithonia. Her interest in music education has also kept her active in music ministries at her local church, and she continuously seeks opportunities to reach young people with educational performance experiences and affordable music lessons through substitute teaching and community arts education programs, such as Arts+ in Charlotte, N.C.

Denielle plays a cello made in 2020 by Mauricio Aguiar, a violinist in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. She is currently performing as a section cellist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for their 2022-23 season.