Phoebe Russell

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Phoebe Russell studied at the Australian National Academy of Music under the tutelage of Damien Eckersley. At the age of 17, she moved to Berlin and within months made her debut in the esteemed double bass section of the Berlin Philharmonic.

A graduate of Berlin Philharmonic’s Karajan Academy, Phoebe Russell has performed in more than 20 countries across the globe with some of the world’s leading orchestras. The last few years have seen her perform with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, the Netherlands Philharmonic and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, among others.

In 2017, Phoebe Russell was appointed Principal Double Bass of Queensland Symphony Orchestra and is regularly invited to orchestras as a guest principal. She has been invited to perform as Principal Double Bass with many Australian symphony orchestras including the Australian World Orchestra, and most recently pre-COVID, returned from a Europe tour leading the double bass section of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. She has had the privilege of working under several world class conductors, some personal favourites including Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Daniel Barenboim and Zubin Mehta.

An avid soloist, Phoebe Russell is regularly invited to perform as recitalist in Australia and abroad including to a full house in the Berlin Philharmonic lunch concert series. She has performed as soloist with orchestras including the Tasmanian and Canberra Symphony Orchestras, the Baden Baden Philharmonic and Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

Phoebe Russell is an active member of Ensemble Q, one of Australia’s most dynamic new ensembles and enjoys an engaging schedule of chamber music collaborations in Brisbane and around the country with world class musicians.

Parallel to her busy performance schedule, Phoebe Russell is a passionate educator and is the lecturer in double bass at The University of Queensland and a faculty member of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. She has coached the Australian Youth Orchestra’s National Music Camp, given classes at the Guildhall School of Music in London, the Melbourne and Sydney Conservatoriums of Music, the Australian National Academy of Music and at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá.

Phoebe Russell plays on a Giovanni Maria Del Bussetto Double Bass c.1660 thanks to generous support received from anonymous donors.