Hi, I’m Doug! I’m a cellist and cello teacher in the SF Bay Area. Read on for my official bio and to see me play, or learn about my teaching here.

Cellist Douglas Machiz is in high demand as both a classical and contemporary musician. He co-founded the Friction Quartet, a nonprofit performing arts organization whose mission is to modernize the chamber music experience and expand the string quartet repertoire. They were quarter-finalists in the 2015 Fischoff Competition and won Second Prize in the 2016 Schoenfeld Competition. Also in 2016, the quartet was personally selected by the Kronos Quartet to perform at Carnegie Hall, and returned in 2018 playing George Crumb’s Black Angels. Since then, the group has recorded two full-length albums and, through the Friction Commissioning Initiative, has funded the creation of 12 new works for string quartet. Doug is also a member of San Francisco Contemporary Music Players.

An active educator, Doug is on faculty at The Crowden School, where he teaches private cello lessons and ensembles. He has taught chamber music at Interlochen Arts Camp and given masterclasses and clinics at Cornish College for the Arts, Western Washington University, and CSU campuses across the Bay Area. With his quartet, Doug has also performed at every public elementary school in San Francisco through the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music Program.

Doug enjoys arranging his favorite pop songs for string quartet, and his covers of artists like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga have been wildly successful with younger audiences. He has also collaborated with bands including Toh Kay and the Pascal Le Boeuf Trio.

A native of Washington, D.C., Doug first came to the Bay Area to attend San Francisco Conservatory, where he earned his Professional Studies Diploma under Jennifer Culp. He also holds a Masters Degree in cello performance from UT Austin, where he studied with Bion Tsang. In his spare time, Doug enjoys hiking, playing basketball, and hanging out with his cat.