Philipp Zeller is principal bassoonist with the Staatskapelle Dresden. In addition to his orchestral work he is a passionate chamber musician. In 2006 Zeller co-founded ‘Trio Elego’, an extraordinary combination of clarinet, bassoon and piano. The trio has performed at a number of chamber music festivals throughout Germany. In 2012, Genuin released the Trio’s debut CD. Entitled ‘Cosmopolitan’, it features works by Schnyder and Glinka.
Zeller regularly performs with chamber musicians including Gidon Kremer, Eduard Brunner, Tatjana Becker-Bender and Louise Pellerin. Over the past decade he has been a regular guest at important music festivals.
He embarked on a solo and chamber music career in 2003 after becoming the first bassoonist in 25 years to win the top prize at the prestigious German Music Competition (Deutscher Musikwettbewerb). Soon afterwards, he released a solo CD at Ars Musici and has since performed at numerous festivals including Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele and Festival Mitte Europa. Zeller’s unique talent has been recognized by renowned competitions such as “Pacem in Terris”, Bayreuth, Markneukirchen, “Prager Frühling” and a first prize at the International Double Reed Society’s Gillet-Fox-Competition. As a soloist, Zeller has performed with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, the Dresdner Kapellsolisten and the Capella Istropolitana. In 2015 he performed the world premier of the bassoon concert composed by Daniel Schnyder with the Dresdner Philharmonie.
Zeller studied under Prof. Albrecht Holder and Prof. Dag Jensen. While doing so he was engaged as solo bassoonist at the Jenaer Philharmonie and later with the Bochum Symphony Orchestra. Later, Zeller joined the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, then Cologne’s Gürzenich Orchester and the Dresdner Philharmonie where he was engaged until moving to the Staatskapelle Dresden. Philipp Zeller is teaching at the University of Music Würzburg.
