(upbeat modern music)

- [Sterling] My name is Sterling Elliott.

(dramatic cello music)

The way I started the cello is actually pretty interesting.

Basically, it was handed to me

but it was also destined to me from birth.

So when I say that, I mean,

my mom always wanted a family string quartet.

She really wanted that string quartet

and I'm the youngest of the siblings

so all the other positions

of the string quartet were already filled.

My mom played violin and viola.

My two older siblings played violin

and there was only one more spot to be filled

in the string quartet which was the cellist.

So she said when I was in her womb,

she actually had a cello waiting.

- Somebody had to play the cello.

I wanted my kids to have the love of music

and have a gift that they would always have

for the rest of their lives,

something that nobody could ever take away from them.

And, you know, just kind of blossomed into more

of having a family group and bonding together

as a family by playing music.

(upbeat classical string music)

- So we were always playing together.

We always practiced together at the same times.

Our musical lives were always pretty much connected.

If one person went to a competition we all went,

either to compete or support.

We're missing the other part.

- Our first quartet performance was at the mall

because I thought what's the best place

to play to get exposure?

The mall, everybody's at the mall.

And then our biggest break, if you will,

was we played for The Boys and Girls Club.

They had a competition and our quartet performed

and we won and as a result of that,

they wanted us to play

for their National Centennial Conference,

and Centennial Anniversary

and it was our biggest audience, 4,000 people.

And there was Denzel Washington there.

There were all kinds of celebrities.

It was crazy and after we performed, people were coming up,

"Hey, we want you to play in San Francisco.

"Hey, we want you to play in Boston.

"Hey, we want you to play in Atlanta."

And the next two years we played all over the place.

- This performing music thing was never supposed to be,

like, my primary career.

I always wanted to be a engineer actually

since I was very young.

I converted our entire backyard shed thing

into like a garage workshop with all my tools.

I've loved all math and sciences.

I've loved, you know, tinkering with my car.

And other things, I loved just the mechanics of everything.

As it wasn't until, actually, when I was like 14,

I was doing the National Sphinx Competition,

that I realized, you know, this could be something

much more than I ever intended.

And that was, actually, sort of when I really started

taking it seriously.

(playing classical cello music)

- [Interviewer] You're in what year at Julliard?

- I'm a third-year undergrad.

This semester, I'm only taking three classes.

But I still find myself playing easily eight hours a day.

I have multiple chamber groups and we have rehearsals

and sometimes, coachings.

And then sometimes school orchestra rehearsal.

Two years ago, I did a solo performance

with the New York Philharmonic,

which was the biggest solo performance I'd ever done

in David Geffen Hall in New York.

And that also led to me getting to play

as a substitute cellist in the orchestra a couple of times.

(concert-goers talking)

It's nice being home.

I'm getting back used to remembering

what my lifestyle used to be like at home.

It's nice and refreshing without the hustle and bustle

of New York City.

Tonight, I'll be playing Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations.

It's a piece I've played with orchestra two times before.

I've played this piece with the New York Philharmonic,

so I'm glad to be playing it again, closer to home.

(playing slow dramatic cello music)

I must say that when I was rehearsing in this small theater,

I realized how much more, I guess,

intimate I could be with the music.

I could do smaller innuendos that could be heard more

because the acoustics are pretty great

with this theater and my cello.

It's a great mix.

(soft orchestral cello music)

March 1st, I'll be doing my first concerto performance.

I'll be playing Dvorak's Concerto at Carnegie Hall.

Kind of "the" cello concerto, some people would say.

35-40 minutes, I think.

I'll be playing it with the New York Youth Symphony.

I've been lucky enough to have a solo opportunity

just by myself for a couple of minutes

in the big hall in Carnegie.

And that will be absolutely terrifying,

but also an amazing opportunity.

I think a lot of people think

I'm kind of a unique kind of person,

but I always just try to tell them, you know,

I feel like I'm probably just like you.

You can probably do exactly the same kind of thing

I was doing, as long as you just have someone

that's keeping you going, whether it's yourself,

or a parental figure, or another role model.

As long as you continue to have that drive,

as long as you continue to put in the work,

you know, anything can happen.

(applause)