Mary Wooten was born on August 22, 1947, in London, England. She grew up in a family of musicians, with her father being a cellist and her mother a pianist. Wooten began playing the cello at the age of six and quickly showed a natural talent for the instrument. Wooten studied at the Royal College of Music in London, where she was a student of renowned cellist William Pleeth. She also studied with Pierre Fournier in Switzerland and Leonard Rose in the United States. Wooten's early career was marked by numerous awards and accolades, including the prestigious Queen's Prize at the Royal College of Music. In 1970, Wooten joined the London Symphony Orchestra, where she played for over a decade. During this time, she also performed as a soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Philharmonic. Wooten's performances were marked by her technical precision and emotional depth. She was known for her ability to bring out the nuances of a piece of music, and her performances were often described as "spellbinding" and "mesmerizing." In addition to her work as a performer, Wooten was also a dedicated teacher. She taught at the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and many of her students went on to have successful careers as cellists. Wooten's career was marked by numerous highlights, including her performance of Elgar's Cello Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1978, which was widely praised as one of the greatest performances of the piece ever recorded. She also performed the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1980, which was broadcast on PBS and received widespread critical acclaim. Throughout her career, Wooten received numerous awards and honors, including the Order of the British Empire in 1990 and the Queen's Medal for Music in 2015. She was also a Fellow of the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. Wooten retired from performing in 2000, but continued to teach and mentor young musicians. She passed away on December 13, 2018, at the age of 71, leaving behind a legacy as one of the greatest cellists of her generation.

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