Olaf Ott was trained at the Dortmund branch of the Hochschule für Musik of Westphalia-Lippe. In 1985 he joined the Duisburg Symphony Orchestra (and simultaneously the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein) as principal trombone, and between 1989 and 1994 he was principal trombone in the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (now the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin). In 1994 he took up the position of trombonist in the Berliner Philharmoniker, and since 1999 he has been an orchestra principal. Ott also belongs to the Berlin Philharmonic Brass Ensemble and has played for nearly two decades in the Triton Trombone Quartet, winning several international prizes. He first appeared at PMF with the Berlin Philharmonic Brass Ensemble in 2014. This year he returns to serve as a member of PMF Faculty.