Joshua Roman is a cellist, composer, and cultural leader whose work bridges classical tradition with bold new directions for 21st-century artists. His Immunity project—a unique blend of music, storytelling, and audience interaction inspired by his experience with Long COVID—was born in Princeton University’s Healing with Music Series and has since reached audiences at Stanford University, Yale University, Harvard Medical School, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Aspen Ideas Health, and Aspen Institute Grand Rounds in conversation with Atul Gawande. His journey and the project’s impact were profiled in The New York Times Health section, reflecting the same curiosity he brings to both ideas and sound: a spirit of discovery that helps audiences reimagine the familiar and step into fresh ideas with courage and clarity.

He has introduced millions to music and ideas through global stages and digital platforms, including multiple TED appearances—among them a landmark livestream of the complete Bach Solo Cello Suites, which was viewed by nearly a million people, and the opening of the 2017 TED Conference.

At the core of Joshua’s artistry is a drive to explore the power of music and how we experience it. Praised by The New York Times for his “effortlessly expressive tone” and by the San Francisco Chronicle for a blend of precision and freedom that “goes straight to the heart,” Joshua performs with the same openness that shapes his speaking. Whether on stage or behind a microphone—on podcasts such as TED Radio Hour and The Happiness Lab, or at Carnegie Hall in a Well-Being Concert—his performances are as emotionally rich as they are thought-provoking.