Vanessa Hunt Russel plays a cello by J.B Viullaume
Canadian musician Vanessa Hunt Russell is currently living in Lugano, Switzerland, playing cello as a permanent member of the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana and freelancing as a gambist and baroque cellist.
Vanessa was the first prize and audience prize winner of the 8th International Viola da Gamba Bach-Abel Competition 2021 in Köthen, Germany.
Biography
Vanessa’s most notable gamba performances include Bach's Johannespassion with Christophe Prégardien and Kammerorchester Basel, Bach’s Matthäuspassion with Roberto González-Monjas and Musikkollegium Winterthur, Abel’s G-major Gamba Concerto with Peter Whelan and the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana. Vanessa was invited to perform at BachFest 2024 in Leipzig where she presented a concert of all the Bach and Telemann Sonatas alongside two pieces she commissioned from Canadian composer Rodney Sharman.
As guest principal cellist, Vanessa has performed with Kammerorchester Basel, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Verbier Festival Orchestra and Stuttgarter Kammerorchester. Vanessa is also a longstanding guest with the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Philharmonia Zürich and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. As a devotee of contemporary music, Vanessa has a diverse repertoire including Rodney Sharman’s the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, Sofia Gubaidulina’s Sonnengesang, Heinz Holliger’s Chaconne, Vijay Ayer’s Run and Kaija Saariaho’s Sept Papillons. With assistance from the Canada Council for the Arts that persisted throughout her studies in Switzerland and culminated in her receiving the Virginia Parker Prize, Vanessa studied cello with Thomas Demenga, Claudius Herrmann and Roel Dieltiens, baroque cello with Petr Skalka and viola da gamba with Martin Zeller and Paolo Pandolfo.