Philip Hansen’s intensely personal and colorful playing has encompassed historical baroque all the way to jazz, from chamber music to concerts for solo cello with orchestra. As 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. Phil was a long-time faculty member of the Académie Internationale Musicale in Provence, France.

Founder and Artistic Director of the Quadra Island Festival of Chamber Music, Phil oversees innovative programs from Baroque to Modern Music. His retreats called Cello Zen are held in Brazil and North America, with an approach integrating ease of playing with excellence in musicianship. Phil’s teaching encompasses the influences of his cello mentors Steven Doane, Lynn Harrell, Jürgen de Lemos, and Patricia Pinkston.

Phil’s CD of the Solo Suites by J. S. Bach, recorded on baroque cellos, will be released in 2018. His album of tango music, Bragatissimo, has been broadcasted around the world.

Phil is an avid composer of multiple orchestral, chamber, and solo works. He collaborated on and composed the theme music to Charlie the Cello, a children’s book and stage production by author Deborah Nicholson.