The influential double bass pedagogue George Vance passed away last year after a bout with pancreatic cancer. Influenced by Suzuki, George codified an approach to teaching younger bassists that has influenced countless players and teachers (myself included–I use his materials with all of my younger students). Here’s some information about the workshop:

George Vance Memorial Summer Bass Workshop 2010

Silver Spring, MD, 301-588-9275, summerbassworkshop@gmail.com
July 6-10 2010

Day workshop for bassists desiring an intense study of the bass with master teachers. Workshop under direction of Martha and Sam Vance in cooperation with Institut International Francois Rabbath.

Francois Rabbath in recital Friday July 9, 2010

All ages are welcome; parents must attend with children younger than 16.
Daily schedule includes: master class, bass choir, group lesson, participatory lecture/demo, improvisation, evening faculty concert.
Faculty includes: Francois Rabbath, David Young,Ted Botsford, Tracy Rowell, Etienne LaFrance, Hans Sturm, John Hamil, Lloyd Goldstein, Nicholas Walker, Ira Gold, Christian Laborie, Gilles Duhaut.

Here I am introducing the clinicians. Spot any familiar faces? There are at least 4 or 5 former Contrabass Conversations guests:

Check out how packed the lobby was! We had 130 participants, 30 clinicians, and another 40 or 50 vendors, siblings, and parents roaming the two levels of this facility:

I like this shot of all the cases piled in the balcony:

Here’s a shot of Trevor Jones of Molehill giving a clinic on managing your own music:

Michael Hovnanian arriving, well-bundled for the winter weather:

The Chicago Bass Ensemble performing, one of six events happening simultaneously at the 2 pm time slot:

More to come, and we hope to see you there next year!

PS – Please send me photos/videos if you were at the event and got some footage! You can email them to me at jasonheathbasspage – at- gmail.com.

Looks like a great faculty lineup in an awesome setting–register here.

We’ll be doing an online survey within the week to see what went well and what could be improved upon for next year. The first year for an event like this is always a stressful and unpredictable affair, but there were suprisingly few bumps in the road, and we’ll work on those areas for next year.

If you were in attendance and got photos, videos, etc., you’d be doing me a huge favor if you sent me them. I’d love to put all the footage folks got and dump it on the Chicago Bass Festival website. If you dump video on YouTube (andi hope you do!), send me a link and I’ll embed it on the site.

You can send stuff to jasonheathbasspage -at- gmail.com.

If you didn’t make it out, I hope to see you there next year on February 6, 2011 (mark your calendar!) for the next Chicago Bass Festival!

Event: Daxun Zhang Master Class
Start Time: Sunday, February 7 at 11:30am
End Time: Sunday, February 7 at 2:00pm
Where: The Cleveland Institute of Music – Mixon Hall

It’s being hosted by another former CBC guest: Cleveland Orchestra principal bass Max Dimoff. Check out their respective interviews below:

Daxun interview

Max interview

Chicago Bass Festival Schedule (tentative)

9:30 am – Registration

10:30 am

BG Hall: Exploring the sound of the bass through the chamber music of Jason Seed (performance)

-performance, no bass needed

Milwaukee Symphony and other local musicians will join Dan Armstrong in playing the chamber music of guitarist Jason Seed.

Andy Raciti, Scott Kreger, Jonathan Cegys, Dan Armstrong, basses

Hermine Gagné, violin, Tom Wright, viola, Jason Seed, guitar

Rm. 13: Orchestral Excerpts – an exploration (classical)

Rob Kassinger, clinician

-group class, bring your bass
-this clinic is suited for high school and college players

Repertoire TBA

Rm. 4: Master Class (classical)

Andrew Anderson, clinician

-master class, bring your bass if you would like to play for the clinician (not required)

Freehling: Bow Grip and Getting a Good Sound (young bassists)

Steve Reinfranck, clinician

11:30 am

BG Hall: Advanced Double Bass Technique (classical)

Jeff Bradetich, clinician

Rm. 3: IMEA Audition Preparation Class (high school)

Alan Steiner, clinician

-group class, bring your bass

This clinic focuses on preparing the required audition music for the Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) auditions. Alan will focus on preparing the scales and required audition music (Academic Festival Overture by Brahms for 2010) as well as covering audition preparation strategies in general. Fingering, bowing, and group playing of the repertoire will be covered.

Freehling: Stance and Set-Up for Younger Bassists (young bassists)

Trevor Jones, clinician

Rm. 4: Master Class (classical)

Judith Hanna, clinician

-master class, bring your bass if you would like to play for the clinician (not required)

Rm. 13: Michael Cameron performance – (performance)

Michael Cameron, clinician

-performance, no bass necessary

Michael Cameron will perform chamber music with some of his students from the University of Illinois.

12:30 pm – Lunch

1 pm

BG Hall: Master Class (classical)

Jeff Bradetich, clinician

-master class, bring your bass if you would like to play for the clinician (not required)

Rm. 4: Master Class (jazz)

Eric Hochberg, clinician

-bring your bass

Freehling: Bass Ensemble Play-Along (young bassists)

Alison Gaines, clinician

Rm. 3: How to Manage Your Own Music (clinic)

Trevor Jones, clinician

Whether it’s a chamber group (classical), rock group, or jazz group, you are in charge of your own musical success and everything that goes with it. Marketing, booking, managing personnel, and the satisfaction of playing your own music while maintaining a viable career you can pay rent with is obtainable, and this clinic explores how to achieve this.

2 pm

BG Hall: Chicago Bass Ensemble (performance)

-bass not needed for this session

Performance/Q&A exploring contemporary bass quartet literature with the Chicago Bass Ensemble and composers who have written music for them. There will be opportunity for interaction with both the performers and the composers of these works (they’ll be at the performance!).

Michael Hovnanian, John Floeter, Jacque Harper, and Doug Johnson, clinicians

Rm. 4: Introduction to the Violine (lecture/demonstration)

Jerry Fuller and James Lambert, clinicians

-bass not needed for this session

This lecture/demonstration will feature the violone, how it is played, its history, and its uses in period performance.

Rm. 13: Master Class (classical/jazz)

Michael Cameron, clinician

-master class, bring your bass if you would like to play for the clinician (not required)

Rm. 2: Master Class (jazz)

Marlene Rosenburg, clinician

-master class, bring your bass if you would like to play for the clinician (not required)

content TBA

Rm. 3: – Mock Audition (clinic)

Jason Heath, clinician

-group class but requires participants to play solo music in challenging circumstances
-suitable for all ages, bass not required to attend

This clinic addresses the skills required for successful auditioning. Be prepared to be thrown off your game in this clinic!

Freehling: Shortcuts to Bass Playing: Save time, save energy (young bassists)

-Virginia Dixon, clinician

3 pm

Rm. 3: Warm-Up Techniques and Concepts: A Survey (clinic)

John Floeter, clinician

-group class, bass encouraged but not required

This clinic covers a variety of warm-up strategies and materials used by double bassists from many different orchestras and schools. Participants will learn more about popular methods of warming up and how to find the best option for each individual.

Freehling: What’s so Funny About Repertoire and Curriculum? (jazz)

An exploration of Ed Friedland’s jazz bass lines books (Hal Leonard, pub.)

Brad Opland, clinician

-group class, bring your bass
-this clinic is suitable for all ages, particularly for those with an interest in jazz

This clinic investigates the approach to learning the fundamentals of jazz bass playing outlined in the books of Ed Friedland. Topics will include building walking bass lines.

Rm. 13: Suzuki, The Mother Tongue Method (young bassists)

-Virginia Dixon, clinician

Rm. 3: Top Ten Strategies for Music School Auditioning (lecture/Q&A)

Jason Heath, clinician

-bass not needed for this session

This clinic covers effective methods of choosing schools to audition for, selecting repertoire, developing a successful plan for getting into these schools, and making an informed choice when choosing various packages offered by these schools.

BG Hall: Master Class (classical)

Michael Hovnanian, clinician

-master class, bring your bass if you would like to play for the clinician (not required)

4 pm – Faculty Recital

-program TBA
-faculty for the Chicago Bass Festival will perform solo and group pieces
-performance, no bass needed

The 4th World Bass Festival in Wroclaw, Poland, Irena Olkiewicz, director, will be held August 8-14, 2010. The roster of classical and jazz guest artists presenting concerts and masterclasses include Tom Martin, Joel Quarrington, Rufus Reid, Klazz Brothers & Cuba Percussion, Catalin Rotaru, Kristin Korb, Hiroshi Ikematsu, Tadeusz Gorny, Eric Hansen, Stefano Scodanibbio, Thierry Barbe, Barry Green, Miloslav Jelinek, Irena Olkiewicz, Ekkehard Beringer, Jakub Olejnik, Bassiona Polacca, Petya Bagovska, Adam Skrzypek, Miloslav Gajdo?, Dan Styffe, Patrick Neher, Hans Roelofsen, Aleksander Mikolajczyk, Gunars Upatnieks, Esra Gul Atalay, Yun Xia Hou, Song Yi, Shen Dongwen, Andrzej Dechnik, Grzegorz Frankowski, Kazimierz Cyna, Dominik Schulz, Pawel Jablczynski, Robert Piekos and Ryszard Kusek.

There will be a one-day competition for classical and jazz bassists offering prizes and certificates, and the festival will also include exhibits by bass makers and double bass shops from England, Germany, France, Italy, the USA and China. Registration for players is 150 Euros or 100 Euros to audit, with an administration fee of 10 Euros. The entry fee for the competition is 25 Euros. The registration deadline is June 30, 2010. Accommodations in campus double rooms, a 5-minute walk from the Academy of Music, are 10 Euros per day (email Kazik Cyna for dormitory room reservations at sq6fhw@poczta.fm.)

For more information or to register for the 4th World Bass Festival in Wroclaw, go to www.worldbassfestival.pl or contact Irena Olkiewicz, wbf.irena@tlen.pl

Jeff is one of the most influential double bass teachers and performers active today. He teaches bass at the University of North Texas and the Cleveland Institute, and he recently put out a technique book that I highly recommend.

Check out the following video of Jeff performing an excerpt of the B.B. Wolf by Jon Deak:

By the way, we interviewed Jeff in 2008 for Contrabass Conversations. Check it out, and we hope to see you at the Chicago Bass Festival next month!