Hailing from Miami Florida, Indiana-based cellist Erica Ogihara is a passionate performer and teacher. She has put together numerous chamber projects which have led to her participation in masterclasses with artists such as pianist Ursula Oppens and violinist Ida Kavafian. Heard as a soloist with orchestras including the Alhambra Symphony Orchestra and the Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra, Erica has also been a laureate at several competitions including the Walenstein Music Competition and the Artist Series of Sarasota Competition. 

As an educator, Erica wishes to cultivate a love of music and provide music education to as many people as possible. Selected as a 2021 Fellow at ArtistYear, the premier AmeriCorps program dedicated for artists, she taught music and cello to District I schools through her service year. Erica is a Suzuki Association of the Americas registered instructor and completed her teacher training in books 1-8 with Pam Devenport and books 9-10 with Tanya Carey. She is currently on faculty at Mimi Zweig’s Jacobs String Academy. Erica began her studies on the cello at the age of 10 with Audrey Pilafian. She is pursuing her Doctorate in Cello Performance at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under Brandon Vamos of the Pacifica Quartet, and also holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Oberlin Conservatory.  Erica plays on a 2019 cello by Alexander Tzankow, an endeavor made possible by the generous support by the Marks family through Juilliard’s Career Advancement Fellowship.