Cellist Katherine Philp’s work ranges from the classics, to cutting edge contemporary art music, as well as improvisation, arranging and composing. She is particularly interested in projects that engage in respectful intercultural collaboration, and actively supports the generation of new works by women and non-binary composers. She regularly appears in ensembles and as a soloist at many Australian festivals including the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Tyalgum Festival, Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music, and the Woodford Folk Festival. Katherine’s performances and arrangements have been broadcast live and recorded for ABC Classic FM and ABC Radio National. She is currently the principal cellist of Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, and maintains a busy and eclectic freelance career.
In 2009 Katherine undertook an Asialink residency (supported by Arts Queensland and Australia Council) at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in Dharamsala, India, where she studied Tibetan classical and folk music. This formative experience has led to 15 years of close collaboration with Tibetan Singer and Instrumentalist Tenzin Choegyal on a series of projects including performances at the Woodford Folk Festival, the Sydney Opera House, Tyalgum Festival, the annual Festival of Tibet at the Brisbane Powerhouse, and recordings for ABC Radio National.
More recently, Katherine has become increasingly acknowledged for her performance of new and experimental music, and has undertaken study with Rohan de Saram and Lucas Fels (of Arditti String Quartet). Recent new music highlights include performances with Melbourne-based Rubiks Collective, performing in a portrait concert of Liza Lim’s works with Arcko Ensemble, While You Sleep (a collaboration between composer Kate Neal and artist/animator Sal Cooper), creating improvised solo cello film scores for film-makers Amiel Courtin-Wilson and Jordan Giusti, and recording with the Australian Art Orchestra.
Katherine has performed and studied in India, the UK, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, taken part in the Impuls Academy and the International Summer Course for New Music Darmstadt, and recently received an award for Best Performer, playing Berio’s Sequenza XIV at the San Marino New Music Project.
Katherine Philp’s appearance in the 2023 Brisbane Music Festival is supported by Jocelyn + Bruce Wolfe.