He is principal cello of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra in Belgium, teaching at the Royal Antwerp Conservatory, co-founder and co-director of the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival in the USA, and co-Artistic Director of La Loingtaine in Montigny-sur-Loing, France.

 

He has performed at Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Salle Gaveau, Berlin Philharmonie, Köln Philharmonie, Luzerner Theater, the American Academy in Rome, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Kyoto Concert Hall, and at festivals including Seattle, Ferrara Musica, Wiener Festwochen, Elba Festival, Sonoro, Ravinia, Verbier and Resonance Festival Belgium. Raphael has collaborated with Steven Isserlis, James Ehnes, Martha Argerich, Pekka Kuusisto, Ivry Gitlis, Giovanni Sollima and with quartets including Brooklyn Rider, Dante and Orpheus. He has given many world premieres including Olli Mustonen's Triptych for three cellos with Steven Isserlis, and chamber music by Sebastian Currier, Thomas Adès, Paola Prestini, Martin Kennedy and many others. Recent solo concertos include Beethoven Triple concerto with the Virginia Symphony, Lalo concerto with Antwerp Symphony and Lionel Bringuier, Saint-Saens concerto with the Brasov Philharmonic, as well as Boccherini and Vivaldi concertos with Bruges Chamber Players, and performances with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic under Edo de Waart, Philippe Herreweghe and Fabien Gabel.

 

Raphael enjoys working with young musicians and has given masterclasses at the University of Texas, McDuffie Center at Mercer University, Lemmens Institute, Belgium Cello Society, La Loingtaine, and travels each year to teach in Japan. He has lead student orchestral projects at the Antwerp Symphony Academy, Musiq3 Festival in Brussels, and at the Royal Bruxelles Conservatory.

 

As a member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, he played in the Lucerne Festival Orchestra’s celebrated Mahler Symphony Cycle with Claudio Abbado. He has also worked with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English Baroque Soloists, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Munich Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Les Dissonances, among others. Raphael studied at The Juilliard School with Harvey Shapiro, and later with Mario Brunello, Steven Isserlis and Ferenc Rados.