BIO

Philip Kettler is the newly appointed Principal Cellist of the Boise Philharmonic. A passionate chamber musician, he is also the cellist of the Langroise Trio, with whom he serves as Artist-in-Residence at The College of Idaho. He began his positions in Boise after three seasons with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, where he served as Second Cellist and the orchestra’s youngest member. Philip has also performed with the Indianapolis Symphony, Oregon Symphony, and Sarasota Orchestra, and previously held principal positions in orchestras including the Terre Haute Symphony, Carmel Symphony, and Columbus Indiana Philharmonic. Highlights of Philip’s upcoming 2025-2026 season include Camille Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Boise Philharmonic, a solo recital at the New Hampshire Center for the Arts, and the position of the Acting Principal Cellist of the Britt Festival. In recent seasons, he has been featured as a soloist and chamber musician in concert series across the state of Idaho and in Washington DC, Tennessee, Maryland, Colorado, and Ohio, among others. In the summer, Philip is the Assistant Principal Cellist of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, and has spent previous summers performing with the National Repertory Orchestra and at the music festivals of Aspen, Bowdoin, and Aix-en-Provence (France).

Philip is a dedicated educator, serving as Lecturer of Music at The College of Idaho and maintaining a competitive private studio in Boise. Other teaching engagements have included Northwest Nazarene University, the Sun Valley Music Festival, and regular masterclass across the United States. Philip is a candidate for the Doctor of Music degree at the Indiana University Jacobs School of music, where he also earned his Master of Music degree. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music, and a Performer’s Certificate from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His principal teachers include Eric Kim, Felix Wang, and Dmitry Ferschtman, and he has performed in masterclasses for Johannes Moser, Alisa Weilerstein, and Zuill Bailey. Philip performs on a cello made in Rome by David Tecchler in 1723, generously on loan by Mrs. Esther Simplot.

EDUCATION

Doctor of Music candidate, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Master of Music, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Performance Certificate, Conservatorium van Amsterdam (The Netherlands)

Bachelor of Music, Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music