Russian-born Chicago-based cellist and composer Ian Maksin has gained international recognition for his beautiful tone, his own unique innovative style of playing the instrument and for taking the cello well outside its conventional role.   His recently released album of original music for solo cello titled “Soul Companion” has received great acclaim from critics and audiences around the globe alike.  Having kicked off his 2017 tour with a sold-out performance at one of New York City's most prestigious venues, Le Poisson Rouge, by the end of March Maksin will have played over fifty solo concerts in different parts of the USA and the world: from Miami to San Francisco and from Lithuania to Eastern Siberia in Russia.  In his current hometown Chicago, Maksin has performed at such venues as the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center, Ravinia Festival, Old Town School of Folk Music and Chopin Theatre. He can often be heard live on WFMT, WTTW, WBEZ, and his performances have been featured as “Critic’s Pick” in the Chicago Tribune as well as the Time Out Magazine.  In 2012 he was named “Citizen Musician” by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for his contribution to city’s vibrant musical life and community engagement.  Apart from being highly regarded as a classical artist, Maksin collaborates with other artists in a variety of musical genres:  jazz, blues, flamenco, rock, R&B and world music, blending many styles together using cello as the common denominator.  He can often be heard and seen in collaborative projects with many other leading Chicago artists such as Grazyna Auguscik, Paulino Garcia, Howard Levy and Corky Siegel as well as members of Steppenwolf Theater Company, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera and Joffrey Ballet.  As a guest artist, he has performed and recorded with such artists as Andrea Bocelli, P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan and Barry Gibb.  He has also opened performances for Sting and his guitarist Dominic Miller.