About Philip

Founder and Artistic Director of the Quadra Island Festival of Chamber Music, Philip Hansen has performed on four continents in playing that is both colourful and intensely personal. A USA Department of State Cultural Ambassador to Russia, Phil was featured in concert halls from Moscow to the Far East. He has been guest artist-in-residence at both the Beijing and Shanghai Central Conservatories and was a long-time faculty member of the Académie Internationale Musicale in Provence, France. Phil currently holds the position of Principal Cellist with the Minas Gerais State Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the southern hemisphere’s greatest orchestras.

In his retreats called Cello Zen held in Brazil and in North America, Phil’s approach integrates greater ease of playing with excellence in musicianship. His teaching combines the influence of his beloved cello mentors Steven Doane, Lynn Harrell, Jürgen de Lemos, and Patricia Pinkston.

An avid composer of multiple orchestral, chamber, and solo works, Phil collaborated on and composed the theme music to Charlie the Cello, a children’s book and stage production co-written with author Deborah Nicholson and presented by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

Phil’s CD of the Unaccompanied Cello Suites by J. S. Bach, recorded on baroque instruments, was released in 2018. His album of tango music, Bragatissimo, has been broadcast around the world.