Russell

Armand Russell was born in Seattle, Washington in 1932. He received the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Washington with a major in music composition and the Doctorate in music composition from the Eastman School of Music. He studied composition with John Verrall, George McKay, Bernard Rogers, and Howard Hanson. Professionally, he played the double bass in symphony orchestras including the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops Tour Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic and Civic Orchestras. He has taught as a visiting professor at the Eastman School of Music. From 1961 to 1994 he taught at the University of Hawaii Music Department and retired as Professor emeritus in 1994. While at the University of Hawaii he taught music theory and composition, became Professor of music, and served as Chair of the Music Department for several years. He has composed in a wide variety of musical genres including instrumental chamber music, orchestral music, choral and vocal music. He currently resides in Santa Rosa, California.