Artist

Jas McDermott was introduced to Chicago theater in 2000 when he was recruited by the sound design team of Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman for the musical Whitman, directed by Eric Rosen (About Face). In that production, he provided the cello accompaniment to musical settings of poems by Walt Whitman. Jason worked again with these three during the 2003 Albeefest at the Goodman Theater. In Albee’s one act The Sandbox, Jason performed onstage as “The Musician” (alongside Steppenwolf ensemble member Rondi Reed). Over the past 5 years, Jason’s cello playing has been heard in Pluess/Sussman productions of: Hard Times (Lookingglass), The Father (Writers’ Theatre), The Clean House (Yale Rep), Pericles (Washington Shakespeare), Alice (Lookingglass), The Passion Play Trilogy (Arena Stage, Washington, D.C.), The Secret in the Wings (Lookingglass, Berkeley Rep, McCarter Theater, Seattle Rep), Silk (Goodman), Travesties (Court Theatre) and The Dazzle (Steppenwolf). Jason recently completed both his Masters and a Post-Masters Performer’s Certificate at DePaul University's School of Music under Steve Balderston (retired Assistant Principal of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). Jason has been teaching privately in the Chicago area for the past 4 years and recently joined the teaching staff of the Old Town School of Folk Music. He has performed with various ensembles, including the Bennington Cello Quartet, The Texas Music Festival Orchestra, The AIMS Festival Orchestra (Graz, Austria) and as a Young Artist at the Manchester Music Festival in Vermont. He is also a founding member of the Chicago-based Belden String Quartet. When not dabbling in tango or bossa nova (or playing "Classical" music) Jason can usually be found on his bike or in a cafe with a good book.