Award-winning concert cellist Philip Borter’s performances have taken him across three continents, including appearances in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, with a long list of iconic artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Andrea Bocelli, Joshua Bell, Micheal Tilson Thomas, Leonard Slatkin, JoAnn Falletta, among many others. He joined the cello section of ROCO in 2021, after having previously played in leadership and section roles with the Florida Grand Opera, Naples Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic orchestras.

Alongside his wife, Hirono Borter, he formed Duo-B, an ensemble dedicated to works for violin and cello. Together, they were winners of the Eastman Concerto Competition, with landmark performances in Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theater, the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington D.C., the Universität der Künste in Berlin, and Minatomirai Hall in Yokohama, Japan. In his work with Duo-B, Philip was recently welcomed as a featured guest artist at the 2019 Experiencing Villa-Lobos: International Festival, the Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival, the Romanza Festivale in St. Augustine, FL and the 2017 Iowa Composer’s Forum Music in the Shape of a Pear festival. Other performance projects include a recently released album of Tangos by Astor Piazzolla and concert tours in Italy, Japan, the Midwest, and the Southeastern United States.

Philip completed his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. As a student of Steven Doane, he earned his Master of Music Degree at the Eastman School and his Bachelor of Music at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Richard Aaron. Intensive chamber music studies have led to opportunities to work closely with members of the Cavani, Cleveland, Emerson, Miami, Takacs, Tokyo, and Vermeer String Quartets. Other instructors include distinguished pedagogues such as Janos Starker, Joel Krosnick, Eleanor Schoenfeld, and Stephen Geber.

Philip and his wife have four children; they moved to Waco, TX in 2020, when Philip joined the Baylor University School of Music faculty as Assistant Professor of Cello. He previously taught at Luther College and the University of Rochester.