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Instantly recognized by her 鈥渁rrestingly beautiful tone colour鈥� (The Strad), Canadian-American cellist Denise Djokic captivates audiences with her instinctive artistry and natural combination of strength and sensitivity. Acclaim for her powerful interpretations and command of her instrument has earned her world-wide recognition and appearances in some of the most venerable concert halls.

As a soloist, Denise has performed with most of Canada鈥檚 major orchestras, including the Toronto, Vancouver, Quebec, Calgary, and Edmonton Symphonies, as well as Montreal鈥檚 Orchestre Metropolitain and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Internationally, she has performed with the North Carolina Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Mexico City鈥檚 Orquesta Filharm贸nica de la UNAM, Germany鈥檚 Sinfonieorchester Aachen, Brazil鈥檚 Amazonas Philharmonic, among others.

Denise has been fortunate to receive numerous distinctions and accolades over the course of her versatile career. Recently nominated for the Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance, she has been named one of the top 鈥�25 Canadians Who Are Changing Our World鈥� by Maclean鈥檚 Magazine, one of 鈥淐anada鈥檚 Most Powerful Women鈥� by Elle Magazine, and won first prize at the Irving M. Klein International String Competition. A natural leader and advocate for classical music, Denise is equally at home on the podium as a keynote speaker, having presented at forums such as IdeaCity in Toronto and the Women In Leadership Conference at Queen鈥檚 University. Denise was a featured performer at the 2002 GRAMMY Awards, where she opened for pop rock band Train with solo Bach and then joined the group in a performance of their hit song, 鈥淒rops of Jupiter鈥�.

Denise is deeply committed to exploring music of our time and representing different perspectives and voices on the stage. Her Lincoln Center debut featured Arturo Marquez鈥檚 鈥淓spejos en la Arena鈥� with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas and Alondra de la Parra conducting. Her Carnegie Hall debut featured a performance of John Estacio鈥檚 Triple Concerto with pianist Angela Cheng and violinist Juliette Kang, and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra with William Eddins conducting. Denise joined cellists Paul Marleyn and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi for the premiere performance of Vincent Ho鈥檚 鈥�3 Warriors鈥� Concerto for Cello Trio and String Orchestra at the International Cello Festival of Canada. Recent collaborations have showcased works of Texu Kim (Pali-Pali!!), Kevin Lau (Under a Veil of Stars), Dinuk Wijeratne (Love Triangle), Augusta Read Thomas (Cantos for Slava at the 2022 Bowdoin International Music Festival), and Steven Mackey (Through Your Fingers, Bowdoin 2019). During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Denise recorded a video performance of the first movement of composer Robert Rival鈥檚 Sonata for Cello and Piano with pianist David Jalbert (a work they co-commissioned with Scotia Festival of Music), which was funded by the Canada Council through a 鈥淒igital Originals鈥� grant awarded to Rival.

Denise enjoys multi-disciplinary work and is a member of Ensembl鈥橝rts, founded by her brother, Marc, and sister in-law, Avery Zhao-Djokic: Canada鈥檚 first cultural organization with the mission of bringing together music, dance and visual arts on stage. Her multi-disciplinary performances have included Benjamin Britten鈥檚 Cello Suites in Seattle with Seattle鈥檚 Spectrum Dance in a production of Donald Byrd鈥檚 LOVE, collaborations with the University of Illinois Department of Dance at the Krannert Center in Urbana, IL, and with Ballet Victoria and the Atlantic Ballet Theatre. Denise has made several performance videos for M茅c茅nat Musica, featuring projects with dancers and visual artists.

Denise鈥檚 award-winning discography features an album of Chopin and Rachmaninov sonatas with her long-time recital partner, pianist David Jalbert (ATMA), the complete Britten Solo Suites for Cello also for ATMA which has received consistent accolades: 鈥測oung Canadian cellist Denise Djokic does them proud here with breathtaking technique and a wide dynamic sweep鈥� (Toronto Star). Her debut CD, featuring works by Barber, Martinu and Britten received the 2002 East Coast Music Award, and her subsequent album Folklore (Allegro/Endeavor) received a JUNO nomination as well as an East Coast Music Award, hit the Billboard Chart鈥檚 top 15 Classical CD鈥檚 and was featured on NPR鈥檚 鈥淎ll Things Considered鈥�.

From 2021-2025, Denise served on the faculty of the School of Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa and regularly gives masterclasses in the US and Canada. Denise spends her summers teaching and coaching chamber music at festivals and institutes such as the Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival, Scotia Festival of Music, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and Bowdoin International Festival of Music.

Denise comes from a large musical family and began her early training in her hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia with Olive Shaw and Shimon Walt. She moved to Cleveland, Ohio, during her high school years to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Richard Aaron and is a graduate of its Young Artist Program. Denise furthered her training at the New England Conservatory, where she completed her Undergraduate Diploma with Laurence Lesser and Paul Katz. She now resides in Montr茅al, Canada, with her family.