Oliver Herbert

Oliver Herbert is a concert cellist with a rapidly growing international presence and a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient. He has appeared as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and others, performing under conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Juanjo Mena.

Gaining attention for the clarity and imagination of his musical thinking, Herbert curates recital and chamber programs with distinct artistic focus, often drawing connections across eras, styles, and disciplines. This has led to opportunities to present his curatorial work with institutions such as Deutschlandfunk.

He has appeared as soloist with ensembles such as the San Francisco Symphony and Chicago Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly at leading festivals and venues including Marlboro, Carnegie Hall, the Rheingau Festival, Verbier Festival, the Utrecht Festival, and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. He has performed with musicians such as Mitsuko Uchida and Tabea Zimmermann.

With a love for programming, Herbert approaches his projects with a wide-ranging curiosity—exploring lesser-known repertoire, music of today, and connections that reveal new perspectives on familiar works. His interests have led to projects around the world, including chamber music curations for Deutschlandfunk and the TICA Festival in Hong Kong, as well as premieres of new works by composers such as Andrew Moses and Žibuoklė Martinaitytė.

Herbert studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Colburn School, where he worked with Carter Brey, Pamela Frank, Clive Greensmith, and Peter Wiley, and at the Kronberg Academy in the Professional Studies Program with Frans Helmerson. He plays on a Guadagnini cello that belonged to Antonio Janigro, generously on loan from the Janigro family. In 2025, Herbert was accepted into the Orpheum Foundation’s development program for young soloists.