German-American cellist Paul Dwyer enjoys a varied career in music and beyond. He is a founding member of Diderot String Quartet and ACRONYM, and has served as Assistant Principal Cellist of Lyric Opera of Chicago (2015-2023), Principal Cellist of Music of the Baroque, and as Adjunct Professor of Cello at Notre Dame University.

Paul grew up in Vienna, where he decided to play the double bass but was told he’s too small. At age eight his family moved to Munich, where Paul spent most of his time playing soccer, running subversive school newspapers and transcribing Metallica songs for a heavy metal cello quartet he formed with his best friends. In 12th grade, he made his opera debut singing the role of Polyphemus in Handel’s Acis and Galatea.

Paul has degrees in cello performance from Oberlin Conservatory, University of Michigan and Juilliard. He was the recipient of a Jacob Javits Fellowship for doctoral studies and a Fulbright Fellowship for studies of contemporary music and historical performance in the Netherlands, where he studied with Anner Bylsma and Frances-Marie-Uitti.

Paul also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and is currently a Senior Consultant at Roland Berger in Boston, where he focuses on the energy transition, decarbonization and sustainability.