Indiana University

Classical Bass Faculty:

Bruce Bransby

Kurt Muroki

 

Jazz Bass Faculty:

Jeremy Allen

Todd Coolman

Learn more about Jazz Studies at Indiana University here.

General Statistics

  • US News Ranking: #86 (tie) in National Universities
  • US News Overall Score (out of 100): 51
  • In-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $10,388
  • Out-of-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $34,246
  • Room & Board 2016-17: $10,140
  • Total Enrollment: 48,514
  • Acceptance Rate (from 2015): 78%
  • Student – Faculty Ratio: 17:1
  • 4 year graduation rate: 60%
  • % of undergrads receiving Financial aid: 40%
  • Average Financial Aid: $10,995

Double Bass Statistics

  • Studio Class, Orchestral Repertoire Class, Chamber Music

Other Distinctions

  • Music School Central Top 10 Colleges for Double Bass Performance for 2014 (#9)
  • Music School Central Top 10 Colleges for Music for 2014 (#1)
  • Music School Central Top 10 Colleges for Music Education for 2014 (#2)
  • Music School Central Top 10 Colleges for Jazz 2014 (#10)
  • 1995 ISB Convention Host

What Alumni Are Doing

  • Steve Metcalf (Colorado Symphony, 2017)
  • Colin Corner (Oregon Symphony, 2017)
  • Sam Loeck (Calgary Philharmonic, 2016)
  • Jonathan McCullough-Benner (Milwaukee Symphony, 2016)
  • Noah Reitman (Vancouver Symphony, 2015)
  • Daniel Tosky (Atlanta Symphony, 2015)
  • Kurt Reckon (Charlotte Symphony, 2014)
  • Keith Wymer (Kansas City Symphony, 2013)
  • Daniel Carson (Alabama Symphony, 2013)
  • Brian Johnson (Los Angeles Philharmonic, 2013)
  • Richard Cassarino (Alabama Symphony, 2012)
  • Daniel Benoit (Air Force Strings, 2012)
  • Joseph McFadden (Atlanta Symphony, 2011)
  • Todd Lockwood (Kansas Cty Symphony, 2011) Richard Ryan (Kansas City Symphony, 2011)
  • Dave Milburn (San Antonio Symphony, 2008)
  • Paul DeNola (National Symphony, 2006)
  • Samuel Hager (San Diego Symphony, 2006)
  • Dan Krekeler (MET, 2005)
  • Tom McGary (Calgary Philharmonic, 2005)
  • Andy Anderson (Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2004)
  • Ju-Fang Liu (Indianapolis Symphony, 2003)
  • Jeff White (Calgary Philharmonic, 2003)
  • Karl Olsen (Louisville Orchestra, 2001)
  • Edmond Gnekow (Buffalo Philharmonic, 2000)
  • Zlatan Redzic (San Antonio Symphony, 1999)

Perspectives from the Bass Faculty

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

Kurt: Going from private lessons to coaching a quartet, piano trio, or bass quintet to teaching rep class to hearing a great opera being performed brilliantly… the complete package. Yet above all that, nothing is better than hearing the room rattle and stands shake with the awesome sound of Shosty 5. 1 player sounding like an entire section baby.

We offer everything from Opera to violin making. Chamber music to chamber orchestra to early music. I love my students and give them 1.5 hour lessons standard with extra lessons as needed. We also offer a pedagogy class taught by the incredible and brilliant Professor Lawrence Hurst where you learn to teach an absolute beginner to play a tune in 30 min.

Perspectives from Students and Alumni

Q: What are some favorite memories about studying at this school?

A: Beautiful campus; Autumn in Bloomington; super-talented and friendly student body;
learning and motivation from the other bass students; recitals and concerts by the distinguished faculty; real coffee houses off Kirkwood Ave before there were Starbucks!

A: Travel with the school orchestras to Paris for the inauguration of Opera Bastille; travel with IU Opera Theater to Tanglewood for Leonard Bernstein’s 70th birthday celebration. Visits by guest artists, incl. Gary Karr.

Q: How did this school help prepare you for your future endeavors?

A: Dealing with competition; learning the rewards of hard work and practice; learning how to follow a conductor who is trying to follow an opera singer. Having the opportunity to begin making money as a musician–gigs in Evansville and Owensboro.

A: One-on-one time with great orchestral bassists: Grodner, Hurst, Bransby;
Master classes; mock auditions; Exposure to international students and culture. Although my career path did not lead to an orchestral job, my time at Indiana University allowed me to develop in ways that led to other possibilities; it was one of the most significant periods of personal growth.

Q: What advice would you offer others thinking about studying at this school?

A: Be sure you’re comfortable with a large music school (5 orchestras, for example!) on a very large university campus. If you want a big city experience as part of your education, Bloomington is NOT for you. Embrace the intense, endless, but friendly competition–it will make you a better player than you would have been without it.

A: It’s a big school. Probably 40+ bassists studying every semester. You’ll not be a big fish in a little pond, but the teachers are world-class, and there is a camaraderie among the bass class unlike many others.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share about this school?

A: It’s a beautiful campus; very inspiring. The central community is progressive and highly diverse. Very cosmopolitan atmosphere in terms of culture, cuisine, art, worship, etc.

Tim S, Chris R

About The Bass Faculty

Bruce Bransby

Bruce Bransby was principal double bass with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1978-1986) under Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, and Andre Previn, and was principal double bass with the Kansas City Symphony (1971-1978). He studied with Nat Gangursky, Peter Mercurio, and Stuart Sankey.

Professor Bransby performs widely as soloist and chamber player and has premiered numerous works, including several concertos for the double bass. While in Los Angeles, he was active in studio recordings for motion pictures and television.

He was a faculty member at California State University Northridge, the University of Missouri at Kansas City, the California Music Center, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, and has been a performing member of the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival since 1987. His students hold positions in many of the world’s finest symphony orchestras.

Kurt Muroki

“…I have played with and heard Kurt Muroki on many occasions. He is undoubtedly one of the best bass players I have ever heard. Kurt has facility and technique and produces a lovely sound. He is also a sensitive and intelligent musician…”
— David Soyer, Guarneri Quartet

A former Artist Member with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Kurt Muroki began his musical studies on the violin and went on to study the Double bass at the Juilliard School of Music. Kurt has performed with the The Jupiter Chamber Players, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York City Ballet, 92nd St. Y, and Bargemusic. Festivals include Marlboro Music Festival, Festival L’Autonne at IRCAM, and Aspen Music Fesival to name a few. Kurt is also active playing movies, commercials, popular, and classical recordings with titles including the Oscar winning film “”The Departed””, “”Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close””, “”Julie and Julia””, “”Moonrise Kingdom””, The Who, Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Itzhak Perlman . He has collaborated with the Guarneri, Juilliard, and Tokyo quartets among others, and has performed concerto tours throughout Asia and the United States. Mr. Muroki held faculty positions at Stony Brook University and the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University. Mr Muroki is also an artistic advisor for the Schneider Concert Series in New York City and is a D’Addario Strings Artist. Kurt plays on a double bass once owned by the famous double bassist Domenico Dragonetti and attributed to Nicolo Amati circa 1665

Jeremy Allen

Jeremy Allen is Eugene O’Brien Bicentennial Executive Associate Dean and associate professor of music in jazz studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he has served on faculty since 2006.

A Grammy-nominated bassist, he has performed in the United States and abroad with such jazz luminaries as Fred Hersch, Mike Stern, David Liebman, Kenny Wheeler, Bob Brookmeyer, and George Garzone. DownBeat magazine describes his playing as “worthy of Jaco Pastorius.”

Current projects include the AHA Trio (modern jazz), Corey Christiansen’s Lone Prairie Band (jazz/rock/folk fusion), and Ritmos Unidos (Afro-Caribbean jazz/funk). Allen has been invited to perform at the Indianapolis Jazz Festival, the Ballard (Washington) Jazz Festival, the Shanghai International Jazz Camp, and numerous jazz education conferences. He has presented master classes and papers at colleges, universities, and high schools across the U.S. and in the United Kingdom.

As a recording artist, Allen can be heard on releases by Origin Records, Cadence Records, Patois Records, Artists House Music, and his own label, Watercourse Records.

Todd Coolman

Todd Coolman is adjunct professor of music in jazz studies–bass at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

He studied classical bass at the Jacobs School with Murray Grodner, earning a Bachelor of Music in Bass Performance in 1975. Among his classmates was bassist John Clayton. During his time at IU, Coolman completed every jazz class taught by the late Distinguished Professor David Baker and performed in Baker’s big band and quintet.

Since moving to New York in 1978, Coolman has performed and/or recorded with a virtual “who’s who” of jazz artists, including Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Tommy Flanagan, Ahmad Jamal, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, and numerous others. Coolman enjoyed a 25-year stint with the James Moody Quartet and continues to actively perform today with an impressive array of artists, including Jon Faddis, Charles McPherson, and Renee Rosnes. He has released four CDs as a leader: Tomorrows, Lexicon, Perfect Strangers, and Collectables.

Coolman has authored two influential jazz bass books, The Bass Tradition and The Bottom Line. After earning a doctorate in music from New York University in 1997, he joined the faculty of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College–State University of New York (SUNY) and subsequently served as director of jazz studies for 10 years. During that time, he was selected for the 2001-03 Doris and Karl Kempner Distinguished Professorship at Purchase, and he received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2010, he was appointed director of the Skidmore Jazz Institute.

In addition to his busy schedule performing and teaching, Coolman is in demand as a clinician and lecturer at universities throughout the world, and he is frequently sought after as a writing and research consultant for jazz history and CD liner-notes projects.

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