Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

A couple of years ago a very funny thing happened at the Lyric Opera of Chicago involving orchestra musicians, administrators, and wacky street musician hustlers. I did not witness any of this, but I have heard the same tale from several Lyric musicians, so I hope I’ve got all of my facts right. [...]

When you play a piece like Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet time after time, year after year, sometimes you long for something (anything!) different to happen. Variety is good, even if it is a bad kind of variety. Well, last year at the Milwaukee Ballet we had some REAL variety down in the pit [...]

I spent the summer of 1997 on tour with the the American-Russian Youth Orchestra . This was a really excellent ensemble with a noble mission. It originally started in 1987 as the American-Soviet Youth Orchestra as a cultural exchange program. Half of the musicians were from the United States and half of them [...]

I was playing a Messiah performance this weekend that started to get derailed in some alarming and funny ways. This orchestra and chorus were quite good, but the group had for some reason decided to use a harpsichordist who had never before played the harpsichord. He was a pianist, and something must have [...]

I heard this great audition story a few years ago firsthand from the people who were involved. This was one of the rare times where I actually knew both the committee members and the audition candidate in this story.
Auditioning for the Grant Park Symphony
The Grant Park Symphony of Chicago, Illinois was having violin auditions [...]

If you like this story, check out my other gig nightmare stories here.
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During the summers of 2001 and 2002 I played double bass for the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina. Originally this organization was part of the Festival of Two Worlds that Gian Carlo Menotti started in conjunction with Spoleto, Italy, and [...]

Every summer I think Chicago’s great. It’s sunny, warm, the beaches are filled with people, the city is bustling with activity, and the lake is beautiful and inviting. I am convinced that it’s the greatest city in the world. Then winter hits (in November, or perhaps October or maybe even in September [...]

I have another audition story I’d like to share. If you like this story, you may want to check out my stories about what to never bring into an audition, my disastrous audition for the San Jose Symphony, or any of my other gig tales.
A certain bassist (who shall remain nameless) in [...]

I have taken many auditions over the last decade. I have flown, driven, and taken the train to them, and I (like all bass players) have had my share of inconveniences. There is one audition in particular that stands out, however.
I auditioned for principal bass of the San Jose Symphony in January of [...]

Be careful what you bring into an audition—you may end up getting yourself into an embarrassing situation. A friend of mine once told me about an embarrassing experience he had auditioning for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

This friend of mine (I did not do this, I swear) had heard about the benefits of [...]