(January 4, 2005)
I was born on July 14, 1978, in Flint, Michigan, United States. In 1987 I moved to Indianapolis, Indiana with my parents, Jay Harvey and Susan Raccoli, and my younger brother William. I am a cellist and have also studied piano and organ. I graduated from high school in 1996 and attended the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, from which I graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance degree. I then enrolled at New York's The Juilliard School, from which I earned my Master of Music degree in 2002. From 2002 to 2004 I was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. I recently completed four seasons as the assistant principal cellist of the Charlotte Symphony in North Carolina. In 2008 I moved to Dallas, Texas to take up the post of Associate Principal Cellist of the Dallas Symphony.
Besides music and royalty, my interests include religion, history, movies, and fantasy (especially Tolkien and Rowling).
I have been to Europe seven times. My first trip there was in July 1996, when I travelled to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with the New World Youth Symphony Orchestra of Indianapolis. In 2000, I attended the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany and also visited Denmark and the Netherlands. I returned in 2001 to the same festival which this time included a tour of the capitals of Estonia, Latvia, Finland, and Denmark. In June 2002 I made my first visit to the United Kingdom, for the Queen's Golden Jubilee Weekend celebrations in London. In February 2004 I spent a week in Rome, Italy with the New World Symphony. I participated in the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland in the summer of 2004. In August 2007 I returned to the UK, participating in WDAV's tour of Scotland, and then went on to Italy, staying with friends in Rome.
On four occasions I have been privileged to meet members of Europe's royal families. In May 1999 I had the opportunity to perform for and talk to HRH Princess Irene of Greece in Bloomington, Indiana, at a gala concert organized in her honor by Professor Emile Naoumoff. More briefly, in September 2000 I greeted TRH Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium during their visit to New York City. In January 2002 I met HIRH Archduke Geza of Austria & Hungary when he was the guest speaker at a reception following the requiem mass for King Louis XVI of France. Most recently, at the October 2006 European Royal History conference near San Francisco I had the pleasure of meeting and dining with TH Prince Gregory and Princess Carrie of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.