Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

You are browsing the archives of 2006 March.

Scott Bakshis of the Chicago Youth Symphony recently compiled a list of what the requirements for all the top bass schools are. This is a meta list derived from the requirements of Indiana University, Boston University, Rice University, Curtis, Juilliard, Eastman, and many others. If bass students can have this repertoire under [...]

Here are some interesting performances to check out this weekend:Old St. Patrick’s Siamsa Na NgaelSymphony Center, Fri. 3/17The performance will take place at the Symphony Center and will also feature the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra, Old St. Patrick’s concert choir, and Irish instrumentalists and dancers. General admission tickets range from $25 to $55 and can [...]

Here is the New York Times review of the Jerusalem Symphony concert I mentioned in an earlier post.
An Israeli Orchestra Gives a Look Back to Music From the War Years - New York Times

Andrew Anderson is a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. He is also a member of the double bass faculty at Roosevelt University.
Visit Contrabass Conversations to hear interviews with Andy Anderson about life as a double bassist.
Click the player to listen, and click the title (right-click and [...]

Please e-mail me or leave a comment here if you have gear that you would like to have listed on the Bass Blog for sale page. Click any of the photos for a larger shot of the instrument.

Basses For Sale:

This instrument plays great (as you can hear from this clip) and is available for [...]

University of Iowa bass profesor Volkan Orhan has recently recorded an album of bass ensembles. The unusal thing is that he played all of the tracks himself, and overdubbed them to make an ensemble of Volkans.
The first seven tracks are double bass duets written by David Anderson, principal bass for the Louisiana Philharmonic and [...]

Years ago, I played for the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra, a group led by Leon Botstein that toured the United States and Russia. We performed in many different venues, including the Marinksy Theater and the Hermitage Museum in Russia and Tanglewood and Carnegie Hall in the United States.
I see that Leon Botstein will [...]

I generally recommend pernambuco bows over carbon-fiber bows for my students, but this stick sounds like a really good option for someone looking for a quality stick under $1000. Carbon-fiber bows tend to have a flatter, less interesting sound than pernambuco bows, but they usually handle as well as a really good pernambuco bow. [...]

On Wednesday, March 8, Boston Symphony principal bass Ed Barker gave a fantastic mastercless. The class was held in Roosevelt University’s beautiful Ganz Hall (pictured above) and was open to the general public free of charge. Four Roosevelt University students performed, and Mr. Barker devoted a half-hour to each of them. All [...]

Here’s a great video of Edagar Meyer in rehearsal with the North Carolina Symphony: