Colorado Mesa University

Timothy Emmons, bass faculty

General Statistics

  • US News Ranking: #23 (tie) in Regional Colleges West
  • US News Overall Score (out of 100): 36
  • In-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $8,008
  • Out-of-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $19,363
  • Room & Board 2016-17: $10,526
  • Total Enrollment: 9,448
  • Acceptance Rate (from 2015): 83%
  • Student – Faculty Ratio: 22:1
  • 4 year graduation rate: 15%
  • % of undergrads receiving Financial aid: 66%
  • Average Financial Aid: $6,325

Double Bass Statistics

  • Average number of undergraduate bass students: 5
  • Studio Class, Orchestral Repertoire Class, Bass Ensembles, Jazz ensembles

Perspectives from the Bass Faculty

Q: What are some of your favorite experiences teaching at your school?

A: Collegial atmosphere, real world focus

About The Bass Faculty

Timothy Emmons is an active freelance musician in Los Angeles, Calif. and a veteran of more than 200 film and television scores including Mission: Impossible III and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol , Super 8Cars 2John Carter, the 2010 Winter Olympics, UpStar Trek XI: The Undiscovered Country, The Tale of Despereaux, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Ratatouille, The Simpsons, Family Guy, The Incredibles, The Day After Tomorrow, Something’s Gotta Give and The Wedding Planner.

He has played in the pit and on stage for dozens of major theatrical productions including Curtains, Swing, Candide, Swan Lake and Ragtime. Gamers can hear him on the low end of the soundtracks of Fall of Liberty, Splinter Cell, Halo, Call of Duty, Jumper, Assassin’s Creed II and Bioshock2.

An eclectic musician, Emmons has played Contrabass on recordings for Stevie Wonder and Beyonce, Barbara Streisand, Josh Groban, Justin Timberlake, Michael Buble, Kenny G, Andrea Boccelli, young opera phenomenon Jackie Evancho, as well as Katherine Jenkins and Paul Potts and pop singers Rufus Wainright, Brandy, John Tesh, Celine Dion and Toni Braxton.

He has performed live with a diverse array of artists including Natalie Cole; jazz guitar virtuoso Joe Pass; rhythm and blues pioneer Bo Diddley, master jazz saxophonist Art Pepper; Motown artists Mary Wells and Martha Reeves; swing-era staples Lionel Hampton and the Glenn Miller orchestra; British Invasion stalwarts Ian Whitcomb and Peter Noone; musical theater diva Liza Minelli; blues mistress Linda Hopkins; disco queen Donna Summer; Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney; Broadway icons Carol Channing, Shirley Jones and John Raitt; rock veteran Rod Stewart; Harlem Renaissance dance titans The Nicolas Brothers and scat-singing innovator Cab Calloway.

Emmons is a dedicated music educator and is on the faculty of Occidental College in Los Angeles where he conducts, and arranges for, the Jazz Ensemble. He also teaches Electric Bass Guitar and Double Bass at OXY. In 2010 he was hired to teach college level Theory and Counterpoint at Musician’s Institute Hollywood. He also wrote curriculum for his Odd Meter Basslines class at MI. Emmons is also involved in education as an adjunct faculty member at the The University of Redlands, where he is co-principal bass with the Redlands Symphony Orchestra and as an adjunct faculty member at the University of California Riverside, Cal State University Los Angeles, Azusa Pacific University.

Tim is the author of Odd Meter Bass, a book/CD bass method published by Alfred Music. He is co-author, along with Fred Sokolow, of Fretboard Roadmaps, published by Hal Leonard Music. He is a contributor to The Funkmasters: The Rhythm Sections of James Brown and has written articles for Bass Player magazine.

A chance call to research a bass line in a music copyright lawsuit involving the movie Ghostbustersopened the door to work in forensic music research. Tim has been an expert witness and consultant on more than three dozen copyright violation cases involving major recording artists such as Taylor Swift, Janet Jackson, Greenday, Mariah Carey, Rascal Flatts, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Billy Joel, Gotye and Babyface, as well as Pope John XXIII. He has also researched musical issues and written reports and depositions on songs used in the movies Ghostbusters IIIron EagleSt. Elmo’s FireTop Gun and The Doctors.

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