A multiple award-winner, Russell received grand prizes at the Golden Violin Competition and the Peter Mendell Award, alongside top prizes at the Prix d’Europe and the Schadt String Competition. As a soloist, he has performed with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado College Summer Music Festival Orchestra, and the Festival Bach International de Montréal, collaborating with conductors such as Elizabeth Schulze and Scott Yoo. Russell’s career focuses heavily on chamber music. As a founding member of the Myriade, Persée, and Iceberg String Quartets, all mentored by Professor André Roy, he won grand prizes at the McGill and WDAV competitions and participated in the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. He also co-founded Ensemble Urbain, a conductor-free chamber orchestra dedicated to underrepresented works, and performs with Trio 888 and the Tahanan Trio. Recently, he co-founded Duo Chromatika with his partner, Julia Mirzoev, performing as both violinist and guitarist. He has shared the stage with world-class artists including Andrew Wan, Charles Richard-Hamelin, and Mark Fewer. As an orchestral musician, Russell has served as assistant and associate concertmaster with I Musici de Montréal and the Festival Bach International de Montréal, and has performed with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. A graduate of McGill and Northwestern Universities, he was mentored by Andrew Wan and Blair Milton. Beyond classical music, Russell is an accomplished blues, folk, rock, and jazz guitarist. He performs on a 1761 Nicolò Gagliano violin and an 1830s Étienne Pajeot bow, generously on loan from a private sponsor.