You’ll love it or you’ll hate it–check out this double bass nonet recording of a Mozart Piano Concerto slow movement, complete with piano soloist! This group has also been featured on the blog in a recording of Miloslav Gajdos Christmas tunes:

More Bass Ensemble Videos:

• Gajdos bass nonet Christmas medley
• Furtok double bass quartet
• Blues-Style by Tony Osbourne
• l’orchestra de contrebasses
• Trio bass’in sings gospel tunes

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The Creole Quartet plays a little jazz on the Heart of Wales line in this photo en route from Swansea to Shrewsbury:

Related Posts:

• Maggini exhibition photo
• beautiful Millennium Park photo
• demotivational posters
• Bassfest 2007 photos and video
• Bass hedge from Robert Oppelt

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I just put out a new listing on the bass blog For Sale page that I’d like to call to people’s attention. Milwaukee-area bassist Mike Britz is selling a 2004 Gagnon double bass which is a really excellent instrument. I’ve played on several of these in the past (Lyric Opera bassist Collins Trier plays one as well) and have always liked them. Visit the For Sale page for more information.

I have finished laying down the groundwork for the Bass Blog Luthier Directory and am starting to add shops. This process will take a while, so expect to see a few new shops added each day. You can always e-mail me your suggestions or leave a comment on what other shops should be included.

If you click the Bass Luthiers tab, you will be taken to a listing of all the shops (again, not many yet) that have been listed so far, and you can comment on each individual shop, offering your experiences or any additional information. This will help the directory to become a valuable resource beyond a simple list of phone numbers and addresses.

At the top of the listing you will see a link for the Luthier Index. Visit this index is you want to quickly skip to one particular shop, or else click the Bass Luthiers tab to browse all the shops listed.

Drew McManus has been puting out the 2007 Compensation Reports on his blog Adaptistration over the last several days. In this survey, International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ISCOM) and Regional Orchestra Players Association (ROPA) executive director, music director, and concertmaster compensation is analyzed against a variety of other factors, including base musician salary and annual organizational budget. These reports are always fascinating reading, and rather than try to summarize, I’ll just direct readers to these four posts:

ICSOM Concertmasters Compensation - 2007
ICSOM Executive Directors Compensation - 2007
ROPA Music Director Compensation - 2007
ROPA Executive Director Compensation - 2007

Here are the top earners in all four of these categories:

• ISCOM Concertmasters: New York Philharmonic - Glenn Dicterow - $428,860
• ISCOM Executive Directors: The Los Angeles Philharmonic - Deborah Borda - $1,325,542
• ROPA Music Directors: Pacific Symphony - Carl St. Clair - $326,988
• ROPA Executive Directors: Pacific Symphony - John Forsyte - $232,541

Here are averages across all four of these categories plus average musician compensation within these categories:

• Average ROPA musician salary: $12,713
• Average ISCOM musician salary: $59,948
• Average ROPA Music Director salary: $121,716
• Average ROPA Executive Director salary: $105,996
• Average ISCOM Concertmaster salary: $186,738
• Average ICSOM Executive Director salary: $280,268

Related Posts:

• Internal politics within the AFM
• San Antonio Symphony uses blog as leverage tool
• Adaptistration post about ‘Road Warrior’
• Concert length addressed by COT
• Bill Harris and the TAFTO initiative

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