Oliver Russell

Oliver is a freelance cellist currently based in Melbourne. He completed a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree at the Queensland Conservatorium, where he studied with David Lale and Meta Weiss. He then continued his training at the Australian National Academy of Music under the mentorship of Howard Penny. While at ANAM, Oliver won the Chamber Music Competition in 2021 and 2022 and the Brett Dean Prize for best performance of an Australian work.

He has had the privilege of performing with some of the leading orchestras and ensembles in Australia and New Zealand, including the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In 2025, he is excited to be part of Orchestra Victoria, as a participant in the Richard Bonynge Orchestral Fellowship program.

As a passionate chamber musician, Oliver has performed at festivals across Australia and the USA, including the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, Australian Festival of Chamber music and Castlemaine State Festival. He has also been fortunate to perform in Masterclasses with musicians such as Daniel Müller-Schott, Johannes Moser, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt and Umberto Clerici.

The Richard Bonynge Fellowship program is fully funded by our generous benefactors Lady Potter AC CMRI with Margaret Ross AM & Dr Ian Ross