Claire Russell is a double bassist originally from Ithaca, NY, currently based in Baltimore, MD as an active orchestral, chamber music, and solo performer. As a soloist, Claire has recently been featured in the “Stories That Matter” Film Screening series at Johns Hopkins University, Robert Lipsett’s prestigious String Showcase at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Noon:30 String Showcase at the Peabody Conservatory. During the semester, she performs in the Peabody Conductor’s Orchestra and Symphony Orchestras, as well as occasional orchestra gigs in the Baltimore and Ithaca areas. Claire has spent the last two summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, performing in a variety of ensembles, including chamber groups, symphony orchestra, conducting orchestra, baroque ensemble, and opera pits.
She is also deeply passionate about community music outreach, currently serving as the student director for the Peabody at the Shelter program, which programs monthly concerts at Helping Up Mission, a local addiction recovery center and housing program. Claire previously served as co-director of the Peabody String Sinfonia, a volunteer chamber group dedicated to bringing live music to communities without access in the Baltimore area. She has also worked in community music education at the Opus Ithaca School of Music and Bass Works Maryland, and as a performing musician for community groups including the Greenspring Valley Orchestra, Opus Ithaca Chamber Orchestra, Peabody Preparatory, Old Bay New Music, and Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival Orchestra.
Claire is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music at the Peabody Conservatory in the studio of Nina DeCesare. Other mentors and teachers include Timothy Pitts, Kristen Bruya, Tristen Jarvis, Nicholas Walker, William Cravy, and cellist Elizabeth Simkin. Claire has spent her summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Sarasota Music Festival, Texas Music Festival, DCBass Workshop, and Domaine Forget Academy. She has also performed in masterclasses taught by renowned bassists and pedagogues, including Edgar Meyer, Paul Ellison, Tracy Rowell, David Moore, and Timothy Cobb.