Musician Bio

Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Mitchell Ballester joined the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra bass section in January 2023. Mitchell studied under Mr. Jeffrey Turner at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He graduated in December 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance. To attend IU, he was awarded the Jacobs Scholar Award, through the Barbara and David Jacobs Scholarship. During his studies, he was a member of the Hutton Honors College and served as Vice President of IU Double Bass club. His former teachers include Mrs. Debbie Taylor and Mr. Matthew Holt.

From 2021-2022, Mitchell was a section member and acting assistant principal of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic. He has also performed with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, and Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra. In 2018, as winner of the David L. Pierson’s Young Person’s Concerto Competition, he performed the Bottesini Concerto No. 2 with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. During recent summers, Mitchell attended the National Orchestral Institute and Festival, Chautauqua Institution online, and performed tours of Asia and Europe with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America.

Mitchell plays on an instrument formerly owned by a long-term member of the Nashville Symphony; it is inferred to be an early 19th century Italian bass. In his free time, he has recently taken up an interest in rock-climbing and enjoys playing board games with friends.