Northwestern University double bass faculty member DaXun Zhang has accepted a position with the University of Texas-Austin beginning Fall 2007 and will be leaving his Northwestern teaching post. This is sad news for the double bass community in Chicago, but great news for DaXun’s future career.
Northwestern University has a long history of undervaluing their double bass faculty. This trend goes back to the days of legendary Chicago Symphony member and double bass pedagogue Warren Benfield, who left Northwestern University for DePaul University after frustrations with unresponsive faculty. This trend continued during Jeff Bradetich’s years as double bass professor. Jeff built Northwestern into a powerhouse of double bass instruction in the 1980’s and 90’s, but he left for the University of North Texas in 1994 for reasons ultimately similar to Benfield’s.
For the next 11 years (1994-2005), Northwestern hired Chicago Symphony double bass section member Michael Hovnanian to teach double bass at the institution. Michael attracted many extremely talented students to the institution, but the school continued their ineffectual treatment of double bass faculty, conducting a series of increasingly incompetent and bungled searches while undervaluing the great talent they had under their noses.
Greg Sarchet (Lyric Opera of Chicago and Northeastern University) joined Michael on the double bass faculty for Northwestern University during the mid-2000’s, dividing up the studio. The Northwestern music faculty conducted another search (their fourth in ten years) for a full-time faculty member, hiring DaXun two years ago.
DaXun is a rare and incredible talent, and Northwestern should have made every effort to retain him of faculty. What did they do? They made him a “lecturer of string bass’.
Let me tell you something–I doubt that UT-Austin will be making him a lecturer of bass. Undoubtedly, he will be on a tenure track in a school that understands the incredible talent of this amazing artist.
Northwestern continues its decades-long track record of inconsideration and incompetence in the hiring and retention of double bass faculty members. This is not characteristic of them in other instrumental realms, but it certainly is so on the bass.
DaXun–congratulations.
Northwestern–shame on you.
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Northwestern=pwnd
Grats Daxun!
The jazz, guitar, and early music programs also get this type of treatment. Unfortunately, the place seems to have a fixation with brass and winds to the exclusion of all else.
McFoolery
Do you really think that this is the place to bash a school/conservatory? While you may have had issues with a certain school, I believe to publish a piece like this is an example of irresponsible journalism.
I hope that people don’t read this post and get turned off of the school before they do their own research.
You fail to mention all the success Northwestern has had in turning out some spectacular double bassists (e.g. Max Dimoff, Hal Robinson, Paul Ellison, and others).
Well, ‘anonymous’, if you read a little more deeply into this blog, you would see that this is in fact an appropriate place to talk about this and is not “irresponsible journalism.” I encourage everybody to do their own research on this topic, and I HAVE highlighted the fact that Dimoff, Ellison, and othes have attended this school. Listen to some Contrabass Conversations episodes with former Northwestern faculty member Michael Hovnanian or DaXun–I’m doing everything I can to highlight faculty members.
I did my undergraduate and graduate degrees at Northwestern University, which gives me quite a bit of perspective on this institution. I also spent time studying with Jeff Bradetich, the former bass professor, and I am certainly aware that Max Dimoff, Paul Ellison, and Hal Robinson studied at this school.
I also had the chance to witness nearly ten years on bass faculty searches, and believe me, this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this place.
Northwestern has a proven track record of incompetence when it comes to both understanding the needs of double bass students and valuing the skills of the faculty members under their noses.
I hope that people do read this post–that’s why it’s up here–not to turn them off from the school necessarily, but to make them aware of this history of this place. Pointing out the problems an institution has had in the past does not necessarily reflect poorly on the BASS FACULTY–I think that DaXun is great, that Peter Lloyd is great, that Jeff Bradetih is great, that Warren Benfield was great, and that success stories like Paul, Max, and others are great. I have featured many of these fine artists on the podcast and have highlighted them frequently on the blog.
Let me ask you this, ‘anonymous’–where else is a prospective student going to find out about this history? On Northwestern’s website or in their promotional materials? Not likely. From the faculty and administrators intent on recruiting them? Not likely.
With tuition costs at Northwestern totaling $43,000 annually(not including room and board), students SHOULD be aware of such issues. Also, if a student bases their decision to go to a school entirely on a blog post, then they’ve got bigger worries.
Why is it that Indiana University or Rice University can keep an incredibly stable and successful bass faculty together for years and years, but Northwestern can’t? This is worth considering.
I don’t know what happened with Bradetich and his successors, but I do know that Warren Benfield left as a result of a dispute with Dean Tom Miller. This is definitely true.
That said, despite the revolving door of the last couple of decades, Northwestern has traditionally and continues to turn out exceptional double bassists, who populate bass sections in orchestras all over the world. The list is substantially longer than the one you cited.
I am sure that Peter Lloyd will continue this tradition, and wish him the best.
Tution at Northwestern is not 43, 000 you type a website so therefore you have the internet why don’t you serf on down to find the tution rate? Also the post below yours cited the dean as “Tom Miller?” Who is that? Do they mean “Toni-Marie Montgomery
Also another responder says NU has a fixation with winds and brass to the exclusion of everyone else. That it simply not true. The string faculty is top rate and this year dominated the concerto competition, sent many people into the Civic orchestra section, and many students won professional jobs.
Thanks for the valuable tip, Mr. Anonymous! I had no idea that I could (gasp!) search the internet for tuition information!
Tom Miller was a former dean, NOT the current dean, which you would see if you read the comment more closely.
$43,000 was an offhand number I was quoting in response to another anonymous troll (like yourself), NOT a part of the post itself. Sorry that I didn’t do the “research” in the middle of my angry response from NINE MONTHS AGO. That figure included room and board. I made a mistake and quoted the figure as being base tuition.
Since you “called me out” on not getting my facts straight, here’s the scoop form the NU website:
“Undergraduate tuition, room, and board at Northwestern University will increase 4.96 percent to $45,840 in 2007-2008 from the current year’s $43,674, University officials announced Feb. 27. The University’s Board of Trustees approved the costs for next year at its Feb. 24 meeting.
Undergraduate tuition will increase 4.96 percent to $35,064 for the 2007-2008 academic year from the current year?s $33,408. ”
It’s people like you that make me hate running a blog. Leave your name and e-mail if you want to actually participate. Anonymity is gutless and cowardly.
I am a composer and have just completed my first string bass concerto. I also have great unaccompanied bass solo and duo. For more information email gedward@roadrunner.com