After my last post on Stacey Lee, I thought I should also do a post on my personal favourite new LA ‘model’. I say ‘model’ because sadly it seems as though she has already left her modelling ‘career’ behind her (apparently she only modelled part time to support her studies). However, this is for a very good reason, as she is now one of the hottest up and coming classical musicians in the world. I am talking about gorgeous cellist Tina Guo (web site currently under construction).Born in Shanghai, China, Tina started playing piano at 3, then cello at 7. Now living in LA, she has appeared as cello soloist with the San Diego Symphony, the La Jolla Symphony, the San Diego Youth Symphony, the San Diego Civic Youth Symphony, the Palomar Symphony, and the Idylwild Symphony. She also appeared on television for KPBS in a recital series, and has been featured on the cover of We Chinese in America magazine.

She’s received many awards and been successful in many comptetitions, including first prize in the San Diego Symphony Young Artists Competition, the MTAC VOCE California State Solo Competition, the ASTA California State Concerto Competition, the CAPMT California State Solo Competition, the La Jolla Symphony Young Artists Competition, the Music Heritage Incorporated String Competition, the San Diego Youth Symphony Young Artists Competition, the MTAC Concerto Competition, and the Parness Concerto Competition for Young Artists. She was also presented with the “Most Promising Talent” Award at the California Young Artists Competition. In addition, she is also a published composer, and was awarded first place in the MTNA’s California State Composition Competition for her series of cello duets.

For those of you lucky enough to be in LA on October 30th, she will be playing in a quartet with world renowned violinist Midori at Disney Concert Hall. I don’t know about you, but I find the sight of a beautiful girl playing an instrument of the string family (except perhaps the double bass!) very sensuous. Here’s another photo to show what I mean:

I’m sure the parallels between Tina and a certain other Asian musician (Vanessa-Mae) haven’t escaped our readers. Indeed, Tina even has her own rock band, where she plays an electrified cello! If she plays her cards right I really think she can be the new Vanessa-Mae, so hopefully we’ll be seeing a lot more of her in the future!

Most of the above information was taken from this page – there’s a few nice photos there too. The web pages featuring her modelling photos have largely disappeared, but you can download them here. Here’s another page featuring an MP3 sample of Tina performing one of her personal favourite classical pieces (the first movement of Elgar’s Cello Concerto) recorded when she was just 16 years old (she is now 19).