Cellist Nelly Rocha has performed as a soloist, chamber and orchestra musician in Europe, Asia, Mexico and across the United States in venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

Nelly has performed with the Distinguished Concerts International New York Orchestra, Miami Symphony, Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, National Lyric Opera, Martina Arroyo Opera, Opera North, Reading Symphony, and Rhode Island Philharmonic. She has participated in the Porgy and Bess National US tour and the Verbier Festival Orchestra European tour. As a founding member of Quartetto Tomassini, Nelly performed at the Met Museum’s Balcony Music Series and New York’s Latin American Cultural Week. Nelly was a cellist in the Broadway show Gypsy featuring Audra McDonald at the Majestic Theatre and the new musical The Seat of Our Pants at the Public Theatre.

A passionate advocate of music by women, Nelly has performed recitals featuring female composers at the International Congress of Women in Music, the Encuentro Internacional de Mujeres en el Arte,  the Universal Forum of Cultures, the Ossie Davis Theater (NY), the Musicians Club of Women (Chicago) and the Friday Noonday Concert series at Fourth Church (Chicago).

Nelly has performed with artists including: Michael Bublé, Audra McDonald, Hanson, Pink Martini, Deltron 3030, Watsky, Smokey Robinson, Aleks Syntek, Natalia Lafourcade, Ely Guerra and the Jingle Punks Hipster Orchestra. She has appeared on Mozart in the Jungle, the Late Night Show with David Letterman, the National Public Radio shows All Of It and Soundcheck. Nelly can be heard in the SONY album Mi Alma Mexicana with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, the GRAMMY award nominated Broadway cast recording of Gypsy featuring Audra McDonald and the GRAMMY award winning album All the Ladies by Joanie Leeds

Nelly enjoys performing with the non-profit organizations Concerts in Motion, which provides free concerts for seniors, veterans, the disabled and homeless, and with Music for Autism, which provides free autism-friendly concerts for individuals with autism and their families.

Nelly is originally from Monterrey, Mexico, where she began her musical studies. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Houston and a Master of Music degree from Arizona State University.

A dedicated teacher, Nelly has taught at Harold Washington College, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and the Music Conservatory of Westchester. She completed the two year Suzuki teacher training program at the School for Strings in New York.