“A cellist of power and grace”
– The Guardian
" a cellist of prodigious technical gifts and sharp intellect... Woods is an artist rooted in classical music, but whose cello is a vehicle that takes him, and his concertgoers, on wide-ranging journeys."
– The New York Times
"dazzlingly inventive... a musician of uncommon communicative power"
– Gramophone Magazine
"one of the finest young cellists of his generation"
– Gothamist
"In its curated cacophony, Difficult Grace elicits the same kind of awe you feel perusing your smartest friend’s bookshelf: Here are the ideas, artists, and words that shaped Woods, arranged in plain sight. Luckily for us, his library is ever growing."
– Chicago Reader
“Throughout the set, Parker Woods showcased the range and depth of his instrument through virtuosic performances that combined both technical prowess and delicate grace."
– I Care If You Listen
"Cellist Seth Parker Woods did the audience a service in reviving “Lamentations” by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, a singular composer who spent the twilight of his career at the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College Chicago. We need to hear more of “Perk’s” music, and in performances as impassioned as Woods’.”
– Chicago Tribune
"...cellist Seth Parker Woods, who is quickly becoming a groundbreaking new-music star both in the avant-garde and pop worlds.”
– Los Angeles Times
“Utterly thrilling, and Woods unstoppable performance was outstanding.”
– 5:4
Recent Press Highlights
Strings Magazine May 2023 Cover Article on Difficult Grace
Billboard Magazine Feature for Difficult Grace Album, April 2023
Chicago Reader Feature on Difficult Grace, April 202
Gramophone Magazine April 2023 – Review of Difficult Grace
The Strad Podcast #78: Seth Parker Woods on practising octaves for cellist
Minnesota Star Tribune Feature on Iced Bodies, January 2023
Review: In ‘Difficult Grace,’ a Cellist Moves Beyond Classical Confines, The New York Times
Cellist Seth Parker Woods brings Great Migration-inspired program to NYC, Gothamist/WNYC
Five Minutes That Will Make you Love the Cello, The New York Times
Strings Magazine May 2023 Cover Article on Difficult Grace
Billboard Magazine Feature for Difficult Grace Album, April 2023
Chicago Reader Feature on Difficult Grace, April 202
Gramophone Magazine April 2023 – Review of Difficult Grace
The Strad Podcast #78: Seth Parker Woods on practising octaves for cellist
Minnesota Star Tribune Feature on Iced Bodies, January 2023
Review: In ‘Difficult Grace,’ a Cellist Moves Beyond Classical Confines, The New York Times
Cellist Seth Parker Woods brings Great Migration-inspired program to NYC, Gothamist/WNYC
Five Minutes That Will Make you Love the Cello, The New York Times
Seattle Symphony, Beyond the Stage with Seth Parker Woods
Look and Listen Festival 2019 Recital Review
Strings Magazine Cover Story 2017
Bristling Energy: The Best Classical Music Moments of the Week, The New York Times
Two Wings collaboration with Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran, The Chicago Tribune
Best of Bandcamp Contemporary Classical: January 2016
Julius Eastman Monday Evening Concerts, Los Angeles Times
Album Review by Tim Rutherford Johnson
Percorsi Musicali, Album Review
DiMenna Center Review with Fred Ho feature, I Care if You Listen
Review of Michael Vincent Waller album with feature of Seth Parker Woods
Interview about Julius Eastman
Seattle Times Preview of Solo Recital
Iced Bodies, Those Who Make Waves
Iced Bodies, Cacophony Magazine
SEM Ensemble review – Roscoe Mitchell played with startling precision, The Guardian
Photo Credit: Bailey Holiver