George (Yehor) Podkolzin was born in Crimea, a multi-ethnic region in the south of Ukraine where the European and Eastern musical worlds meet. 

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George studied at the Partenit Musical School with Vasyl Shynkarenko and graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2024, where he studied with Nikita Naumov, the principal double bass of RSNO. 

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George has participated in various Ukrainian and international musical competitions, such as Ukraine’s New Names (laureate-stipendiary) and Ascension (first prize). While studying at the RCS, he received the Eugene Cruft prize for Double Bass and John McInulty Prize for Orchestral String Playing. 

George worked as the co-principal double bass of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Crimean Philharmonia and as the principal double bass of the Sevastopol Symphony Orchestra from 2016 to 2018. After moving to Scotland, he has led the double bass section of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and has played with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and other British orchestras and ensembles. George led the double bass section of the Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra at the Tsinandali Festival in Georgia in 2024 and 2025.