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Cellist Joshua Roman’s journey from long COVID back to the stage

Cellist Joshua Roman had a singular focus: being a perfect empty vessel for the music. But when long COVID forced him to face his limits, he rediscovered his love for playing the cello.

About Joshua Roman

Joshua Roman is a composer and cello soloist who has performed with leading orchestras around the world, including Los Angeles Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Toronto Symphony and Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra.

Before his career as a soloist, Roman joined the Seattle Symphony as their principal cellist in 2006. At 22 , he was the youngest musician to hold that role.

Roman’s solo album, Immunity, was released in 2024.

Selections from Roman’s album, Immunity, come courtesy of his label, Bright Shiny Things

Additional recordings of David Popper’s “Etude No. 1,” Roman’s “The Importance of Gratitude,” Saint-Saën’s Cello Concerto No. 1, among others come courtesy of Joshua Roman.

“Ave Maria” is performed by Yue Tang on cello and Tatiana Konina on organ. It is featured courtesy of the artists.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Matthew Cloutier and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at [email protected].

Web Resources

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Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

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