Orchestra principals – highlights from Contrabass Conversations
We’ve had a wide array of guests on the Contrabass Conversations during the nearly two years the program has been live, from international soloists and jazz artists to students and composers. For those bassists either active in the orchestral world or seriously considering a career as an orchestral bassist, the advice from a principal bass of a major orchestra can prove especially invaluable.
We’ve been able to profile and interview some of the world’s finest double bass section leaders on Contrabass Conversations. Each of them has offered a different perspective on how the role of principal bass differs from that of section bass, and their experiences are shared in their respective episodes.
Many (perhaps even most) of our podcast guests have been principal bassists for various orchestras–this is just a sampling from our archives, and if you think we’re skipping over one of your favorite players right now it’s probably because we’re planning on using them for a future list!
Jeff Turner – Pittsburgh Symphony 
In addition to his duties as Principal Bass of the Pittsburgh Symphony, Jeff has become a teacher with a considerable reputation for effectively leading double bassists toward a career in orchestral playing. This was a very enjoyable interview with an experienced and insightful orchestral principal.
Jeffrey Turner joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1987. He served as Principal Bass of the New American Chamber Orchestra from 1984 to 1986 and became a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1986. Mr. Turner, a native of South Carolina, holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. His teachers include James VanDemark, Lawrence Hurst and Robert Gladstone.
Mr. Turner serves on the faculties of Duquesne University and Carnegie Mellon University. He is the Artistic Director of the City Music Center’s Young Bassist Program, and gives annual seminars and master classes at universities and conservatories throughout the world. He has also served as Visiting Professor at the Eastman School of Music and Lecturer at the University of Maryland.
Owen Lee – Cincinnati Symphony
CBC co-host John Grillo and I interviewed Owen Lee, which was a real treat from both of us. Owen has an organized approach to double bass technique which bassists can glean a lot from, and he truly is a top-tier musician.
Described as “a true virtuoso” by legendary pianist Gary Graffman and praised by The New York Times for his “deft and virtuosic solo performance” at his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall, double bassist Owen Lee has earned acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician and since 1996, at the age of 26, as Principal Bass of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Lee is heard regularly as a soloist with orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Paavo Järvi and Jesús López-Cobos, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under John Harbison, and the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson-Thomas in Miami and on tour to New York’s Lincoln Center. During the 2006-07 season, Mr. Lee and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, along with a consortium of other soloists and orchestras, presented the world premiere of John Harbison’s Concerto for Bass Viol and Orchestra.
Dave Anderson – Louisiana Philharmonic
In addition to serving as Principal Bass of the Louisiana Philharmonic, Dave is a prolific composer, active teacher, and electric bassist. He serves as Principal Bass of the Britt Festival Orchestra in southern Oregon, and he plays in metropolitan New Orleans and beyond in a variety of bands.
He has performed extensively with many diverse ensembles including, the Aspen Festival, Chautauqua (NY) Festival, Colorado Philharmonic (NRO), Colorado Music Festival, the LaSalle Quartet, and as a soloist with Richard Stoltzman, Gene Bertoncini, Nigel Kennedy, Bobby McFerrin, Doc Severinsen and many others. He has served as Bass Instructor for the Music School at Loyola University and also on the Board of Directors of the International Society of Bassists (ISB) as bassist/composer.
Robert Meyer – Vancouver Symphony
Robert Meyer is the former Principal Bass of the Vancouver Symphony and has been active as a professional bass player since the 1940s, working for most of the major orchestras in London (including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, and BBC Symphony), and teaching at the Universities of British Columbia and Victoria.
Loving the unemployment
Summer has always been a slow time for me bass-wise. Though I’ve always done at least one summer festival since college, I usually find myself with quite a bit of time on my hands during the warmer months.
The lack of summer work used to cause me considerable stress, especially in my early years of freelancing, when my regular seasonal work was more sporadic. I’ve found my peace with this arrangement in recent years, overloading my September through May schedule to balance the lower frequency of summer employment.
In addition to having fewer gigs in the summer, I do quite a bit less teaching than during the school year, with many of students on vacation or simply dialing down the frequency of their lessons (after all, they need a break too!). These days, I build this more relaxed teaching schedule into my expectations for the year, making sure that I overschedule in the fall, winter, and spring to accompdate for the summer months.
As a result of this work rhythm, I try to take a nice healthy vacation in the summer, leaving the bass behind as I catch some rays, do some hiking, and relax on the porch. I’m actually outside right now, hanging out with my wife and listening to some music as I blog on my iPhone.
I’ve also found that taking a solid week or two off from blogging is very healthy for me and enables me to keep my enthusiasm and creativity up on the blog during the rest of the year. I really enjoy the blog, which actually makes it kind of hard to take that time off, but it’s a good thing to do and I plan on doing so around the beginning of August.
I will probably put out a series of “best of” posts that will self-publish while I’m away, and now that I’ve got the iPhone (sweet, sweet iPhone) I probably won’t be able to resist doing a few vacation-related non-bass posts.
Contrabass Conversations will keep up its regular publishing schedule, however. I haven’t missed a week since launching the podcast on January 1, 2007, and I want to keep that streak up as long as possible. I hope that readers out there are having relaxing summers as well–next summer will be a real extravaganza of bass content with the International Society of Bassists convention in Pennsylvania, and we’ll be there covering the whole thing. Hope to see you there as well!
Scared of the scroll
I’ve got another little tale about what happens when cats and basses collide. Most bass players seem to love cats, and many have similar tales of feline mischief.
One of my colleagues was over at my place playing some bass quartets a few years ago. His extremely large bass had a beautiful lion’s head scroll, and he had laid it down on its side as we were taking a short break.
All of a sudden, we noticed that my big orange cat Dan was frozen in his tracks, staring wide-eyed with grave concern at the big wooden lion’s head in his path. He inched toward it, tension radiating from every inch of his body. Nearing it, he reached out a little furry paw and tentatively touched it, jerking his paw suddenly back as if it were scalding hot.
This little dance continued for a few minutes, with Dan the cat approaching and recoiling over and over as we watched with amusement. It was amazing to me that he actually recognized the lion’s head. How cool!
CBC 89: An Afternoon With Gary Karr
We’re featuring Gary Karr, one of the all-time most influential double bassists, on Contrabass Conversations today. Hearing Gary Karr on record was a defining experience for me in my youth (as was the case for bassists worldwide), and hearing him live remains one of my most memorable double bass performances of all time.
The complete audio version of this video is available through the media player at contrabasssconversations.com (at the top of this post) and through the podcast feed for subscribers. You can watch the complete video below (1 hr 40 min) or download it through the following link:
This video is a magnificent tribute to Gary Karr. University of Washington bass professor Barry Lieberman interviews Gary as they listen (along with an enthusiastic audience) to recordings from various stages of Barry’s career. The video concludes with a performance from Gary and pianist Harmon Lewis, a rare treat from this retired duo.
Lear more about Gary Karr at his website garykarr.com, and learn more about Barry Lieberman and his project featuring arrangements of great chamber music that include the double bass at theamericanstringproject.com. We’ll also be releasing this complete video in segments on YouTube, so feel free to search for it there as well. Enjoy, and stay tuned next week for the first segment of our interview with Barry Lieberman, which will feature performances from The American String Project.
Blogging on the iPhone
While blogging via a cell phone may seem like a painful experience, the iPhone is no ordinary cell phone, and with the release of the brand spanking new WordPress app especially for the iPhone, it’s easier than ever.
While I doubt that iPhone blogging (which I’m doing right now) will replace desktop blogging for longer posts, I have a feeling that I’ll be using this a lot. I’m out of the house without a laptop for much of the day, and this little pocket computer is just the answer for a mobile blogger.
Stay tuned this weekend for our special video episode featuring an interview and performance with Gary Karr, hosted by University of Washington bass professor Barry Lieberman.
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