Interview with Robert D’Imperio - Washington National Opera principal bassist
National Symphony Orchestra Robert Oppelt maintains a website that is filled with valuable resources for double bassists, including interviews, stories, tips, and advice. Robert’s site has been mentioned frequently here on the bass blog (see reference links at the bottom of this post), and it is always a treat to see his new [...]
Short and informal concerts - good move for musicians?
I just read an interesting post on Joshua Nemith’s Cincinnati Pianist Blog about the benefits of scheduling shorter and more informal concerts, like concerts at a patron’s home or other such intimate venue. Josh mentions having participated in these sort of events for different organizations in the past, and he highlights some of [...]
New York Philharmonic cellist quits to become paramedic
Contrabass Conversations regular collaborator John Grillo recently sent me a link to this story about Nancy Donaruma, a 59 year old New York Philharmonic cellist who is quitting the orchestra to become a full-time paramedic:
After 31 years in the top-tier orchestra, playing with conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta and Lorin Maazel, the 59-year-old cellist [...]
Bloggers Night at the San Francisco Symphony
Directing readers to examples of progressive thinking in the orchestra world is one of the goals I have for this blog, including examples of repertoire selection, hiring practices, ideas for audience building, distribution methods (iTunes, podcasting), or any other effective ideas for thinking outside of the box. The San Francisco Symphony held what is [...]
Bass Audition Roundup
Recently Posted Double Bass Auditions for July 2007
Allentown Symphony OrchestraDOUBLE BASS - Double Bass (Section)Resume Date - September 4, 2007Audition Date - September 16, 2007Starting Date - ImmediateSalary/Benefits - $81.50 per service travelGeneral Information - Prepare excerpts from a pre-determined repertoire list, a solo piece of your choice, and possibly some sight reading. Candidates should [...]
Ravinia squeezes out the Chicago Symphony (slowly)
Chicago Symphony bassist, blogger, and Contrabass Conversations guest Michael Hovnanian wrote a post recently about the Chicago Symphony’s ever shrinking summer season at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois:
Ravinia seasons used to be 8 weeks. Recently they have been shorter due in part, or maybe completely, to the fact that the current leadership there [...]
Orchestra Musicians = Zoo Animals
Violinist Holly Mulcahy (who has suggested many a good cat video for this blog) wrote an excellent post on The Partial Observer about how a career as a professional orchestra musician can make one feel like a zoo animal. Holly has been a member of several professional orchestras, including the Richmond Symphony and the [...]
Seattle Symphony follow-up
Yesterday I wrote a post about the recent Seattle Symphony audition. This process resulted in no candidate being chosen, and I put out my two cents on how this procedure and subsequent unsuccessful result can demoralize and frustrate auditioning musicians. In retrospect, I may have not have chosen the best descriptors for this [...]
This Crazy Business - Part 1: Hard-wiring the musical mind
An insider perspective on the psychology of performing musiciansThe essay that follows is intended to serve as a theoretical foundation for the arguments presented in subsequent installments of this series. It is based on contemporary theories on arts education plus my own personal observations of the music business. I welcome any additional reader [...]
No one picked at Seattle Symphony audition
The Seattle Symphony had a recent audition for a section position. No one was selected out of the finals to fill the position.
This is nothing new in orchestral auditions. Orchestras across the professional gamut (from the Chicago Symphony to the Rockport Community Orchestra) frequently elect not to fill positions during the course of [...]
