David Russell, cello – Hailed as a “superb cellist” in the Boston Globe, David Russell maintains a vigorous schedule both as soloist and as collaborator in the U.S. and Europe. He was appointed to the teaching faculty of Wellesley College in 2005 and currently serves as Director of Chamber Music. He is a regular performer with several Boston-area ensembles such as Emmanuel Music and Cantata Singers and Ensemble and served as Principal Cello with Opera Boston from 2005-2011.
A strong advocate and performer of new music, Mr. Russell has performed with such ensembles as Firebird Ensemble, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Entelechron, Phantom Arts Ensemble for American Music, Dinosaur Annex, Collage New Music, Music on the Edge, AUROS Group for New Music, and the Fromm Foundation Players at Harvard. He has performed and taught at SICPP at New England Conservatory, the Composers’ Recording Institute at Cleveland State University and the Icicle Creek Center for Chamber Music. Recent projects include solo recordings of works by Roger Zahab with Enelechron, Chen Yi’s Suite for Cello and Chamber Winds with BMOP, Eric Moe’s Mud Wrestling at the OK Corral for cello and piano and Donald Crockett’s Scree with Firebird Ensemble; premieres of a new cello concerto by Laurie San Martin, a new concerto for quintet and orchestra by Derek Hurst with the Firebird Ensemble and Boston Modern Orchestra Project, new works for solo cello by Sam Nichols, Roger Zahab and Andrew Rindfleisch, residencies at the University of California-Davis, the Boston Conservatory and the Icicle Creek Center for Chamber Music and, with Firebird, recordings of works by Lee Hyla and Tamar Diesendruck. He teaches at the Cello Seminar, a summer program for study of contemporary cello music associated with Music from Salem and developed by Rhonda Rider. He has recorded for the BMOPSound, Albany Records, New World Records, Centaur Records and Composers Recordings labels.