Ruben Palma

Ruben began playing the cello at age 6, studying for nine years at the Canberra School of Music with Lindy Reksten. After moving to Sydney to attend the Conservatorium High School, he later studied at the Australian National Academy of Music, the Victorian College of the Arts, the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Alongside his teachers Howard Penny, Julian Smiles, and Nicolas Altstaedt, Ruben also undertook masterclasses with Johannes Moser, Steven Isserlis, David Geringas, Alban Gerhardt, Uzi Wiesel, and Gary Hoffman.

Following several years as a freelancer, during which he performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and Lincoln Center Stage, among others, Ruben joined OA in 2024. His cello was crafted by J.P. Michelot in 1784.

Fun fact: Ruben can trace a connection to Ludwig van Beethoven – his great-grandfather Laurence Godfrey-Smith was a pianist who studied in Vienna with Theodor Leschetizky, who himself studied with Carl Czerny, one of Beethoven’s best-known pupils.