About Jason

Jason Heath is an active double bass performer, educator, blogger, and podcaster. His blogging and podcasting has been featured in the New Yorker, International Musician, Double Bassist Magazine, The Engaging Brand, and the Adjunct Advocate. He is on the board of directors for the International Society of Bassists, a member of the blogging network Inside the Arts, and is a staff writer for Bass Musician Magazine.

A native of South Dakota, Jason began playing with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Sioux City Symphony Orchestra at the age of fifteen. He serves as co-principal bass of the IRIS Chamber Orchestra, assistant principal bass of the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra and as a section bass member of the Elgin Symphony, and has also performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony, Chicago Opera Theater, Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, and Joffrey Ballet Orchestra. Jason has toured internationally with the American-Russian Young Artists Orchestra, Pacific Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and he has also performed with the Spoleto USA Festival, Britt Music Festival, and Des Moines Metro Opera. He has served on the bass faculty of Trinity International University and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Jason actively writes about the classical music world and the double bass. His work has recently been featured in Double Bassist magazine, and his articles and observations about the classical music business can be found on his blog at doublebassblog.org. This blog also includes stories about life as a freelance double bassist, resources for performing musicians and classical music fans, and educational advice for music performance students. Jason is also the host of Contrabass Conversations, a weekly podcast about the double bass. This show can be found at contrabassconversations.com, and it features interviews and performances from prominent double bass performers and educators. He has two degrees in double bass performance from Northwestern University and was the recipient of a Civic Orchestra of Chicago fellowship for graduate study. He and his wife Courtney live in Evanston, Illinois with Dan and Angel, their two cats.

Click here to listen to Jason play and teach the bass (audio and video).

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