Seth Russell performs internationally as a chamber musician, soloist, and orchestral player. Audiences have praised his technical wizardry, adventurous programming, and inspiring musicianship. He has performed solo and chamber music recitals in venues such as Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, Boston's Jordan Hall, Eastman's Kodak Hall, and Taipei’s Elite Performance Hall. He has been a featured soloist with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra and the Western Illinois University Orchestra. In 2017 and 2019 he was awarded a top prize in the New York International Artists Competition. He has been Principal Cello of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra since 2021.
Seth is passionate about creating new ways to explore music and connect with audiences. He formed the Parrish Cello Trio with cellists Jamie Clark and Kenny Lee in the Spring of 2022. Since then, the trio has held guest residencies at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, SC, Western Illinois University, and the University of Northern Iowa. Their work has included working with students in cello and chamber music classes, performing Giovanni Sollima’s double cello concerto with orchestra, and performing their unique, multi-genre cello trio programs.
In September 2024, Seth launched the Greenville Chamber Players, a new chamber music concert series in Greenville, SC. The series presents chamber music concerts played by local musicians in local homes and venues, and is aimed at building community around music through creative programming and approachable, candid presentation. Greenville Chamber Players has performed in the Sigal Music Museum, Smith Recital Hall at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, and several Greenville homes. The series received a grant from the Metropolitan Arts Council for their March 2025 concerts.
Comfortable in many genres of music, Seth arranges, records, and performs music that ranges from rock to medieval chant. He has recorded and collaborated with singer-songwriters like Bobby Krier, Jonathan Green, Mac Meador, and Molly Parden. His arrangements have been performed by the Bob Jones University Cello Choir, the Greenville Fine Arts Center, and the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. Seth also plays a 1921 Gibson mandocello, the mandolin family’s cello equivalent.
Dedicated to sharing his love of music through pedagogy and music education, Seth works with students from diverse backgrounds and in a variety of settings. In 2015-16 he served as the Visiting Assistant Professor of Cello and cellist of the Ceruti Quartet at University of Memphis in Tennessee. His private students have been accepted into the “Rising Stars” Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the University of North Dakota, The University of South Carolina, and Oberlin Conservatory. He has served on the faculty of several summer music festivals, including the Longhorn Music Camp, Furman Orchestra Camp, Varna International Music Festival, and the MasterWorks Festival. Seth is the Instructor of Cello and Chamber Music at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, a residential high school that gives young emerging artists the opportunity to explore and refine their talents in a one-of-a-kind, arts-centered community.
Seth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance and a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with David Ying. He received a Master’s degree in Cello Performance from New England Conservatory where he studied with Paul Katz. He studied with Bion Tsang at the University of Texas at Austin where he received his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in 2019. His Doctorate research document, “House Concerts: Classical Music at the Heart of Community,” highlights the crucial role of house concerts in the history of classical music as well as the modern music scene. Seth has also studied with Lluis Claret, Gary Hoffman, Ralph Kirshbaum, and Pieter Wispelwey, and worked with the Ying, Borromeo, Brentano, Shanghai, and Miro Quartets. Seth and his wife Chelsea are natives of Greenville, SC where they live with their family.