Peabody Conservatory

Bass Faculty

General Statistics

    • US News Ranking: #10 in National Universities
    • US News Overall Score (out of 100): 91
    • Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $50,410
    • Room & Board 2016-17: $14,976
    • Total Enrollment: 22,783
    • Acceptance Rate (from 2015): 13%
    • Student – Faculty Ratio: 8:1
    • 4 year graduation rate: 88%
    • % of undergrads receiving Financial aid: 48%
    • Average Financial Aid: $36,687

What Alumni Are Doing

  • Nicholas Jones (Buffalo Philharmonic, 2017)
  • Rudy Albach (Columbus Symphony, 2016)
  • Taylor Brown (Chatanooga Symphony, 2012)
  • Chris Hamlen (Grand Rapids Symphony, 2012)
  • Ramsey Harvard (Royal Danish Orchestra, 2009)
  • Chris Hamlen (Syracuse Symphony, 2009)
  • Ali Yazdanfar (Montreal Symphony, 2008)
  • Brian Smith (Indianapolis Symphony, 2008)
  • Mark Huang (Baltimore Symphony, 2002)
  • Kingsley Wood (MET, 2001)
  • Jena Huebner (Columbus Symphony, 2000)
  • Allan Santos (former Toledo Symphony)

About The Bass Faculty

Ira Gold made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in 2011, performing the Vanhal Bass Concerto with the Catholic University of America Symphony Orchestra.

Prior to joining the National Symphony in 2005, Mr. Gold performed with several American orchestras, as section bass with the Minnesota Orchestra and as guest principal bassist with the San Francisco Symphony and Detroit Symphony. He has attended festivals such as the Grand Teton Music Festival, Domaine Forget Music Academy, Bach Festival Leipzig, Aspen, and Tanglewood. Mr. Gold spent several summers at the International Festival Institute at Round Top both as a student and faculty.

He is continually in demand for recitals and master classes, including recent visits at The Juilliard School, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Penn State University, University of North Texas, the International Society of Bassists Convention, and the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Gold maintains a studio of private students, has taught lessons and coached chamber music in the National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellowship program, and has been a member of the double bass faculty at the Peabody Conservatory since 2009. He is also a co-founding member of Peabody Bass Works, a one-week bass camp held every July at Peabody.

An active chamber musician, Mr. Gold has performed with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, the NSO Millennium Stage Prelude Series, Peabody Conservatory faculty, and the New Orchestra of Washingon.

He earned his Bachelor of Music degree at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, and his Master of Music degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he won the strings division of the 2005 Concerto Competition. His primary teachers include Edwin Barker and Paul Ellison, and additional studies with Albert Laszlo, Kenneth Harper, Dennis Whittaker, Mark Shapiro, and Harry Lantz.

Paul Johnson earned his Bachelor of Music degree in 1980 from St. Olaf College in Northfield Minnesota before earning his Master of Music degree in 1986 at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University. A “Liberace Foundation Scholar” during his graduate years of study, Mr. Johnson is currently a faculty member and chair of strings at the Peabody Conservatory. Other institutions of attended include the United States Air Force Academy, University of Wisconsin, and the University of Minnesota. Previous positions include faculty appointments at Towson State University, Goucher College, and Baltimore School for the Arts. In 1999, Mr. Johnson was the recipient of The Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award. He is currently the acting chair of the Peabody Institute String Department.

Mr. Johnson’s playing positions have included principal bassist for the Baltimore Opera Company, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. His major teachers include Eugene Levinson and Harold Robinson. Mr. Johnson currently plays as a freelance musician the Baltimore, Washington DC, and Philadelphia, as well as being an active clinician and adjudicator on the East Coast.

Jeffrey Weisner leads a diverse musical life as orchestral performer, soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He has been a member of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., since 1995, and also performed with the San Francisco Symphony. He is a member of the Phillips Camerata. He joined the Peabody faculty in 2005. He has presented master classes at the Colburn School, the University of Southern California, the Interlochen and Idyllwild Arts Academies, and other major music schools.

He has appeared in recital at Peabody, the Levine School, and at Merkin Hall and Spectrum in New York City; he also performed a recital of world premieres at the 2007 International Society of Bassists Convention. He has performed concertos with the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, The Annapolis Chamber Orchestra, and the Crossroads Chamber Orchestra.

He recently released his first solo album, Neomonology, on innova Recordings. It features new works for solo bass by composers Armando Bayolo, David Smooke, and Michael Hersch, all of which were written for him.

As a chamber musician, Mr. Weisner has performed in a variety of venues, including many performances at the Kennedy Center with his orchestral colleagues. He has also performed chamber concerts in communities across the United States through the NSO’s American Residencies program. He has performed with the Peabody Trio and in concert with composer Kevin Puts.

A native of Los Angeles, Mr. Weisner attended Boston University and the Peabody Conservatory. His teachers include Lawrence Wolfe, Ed Barker, and Harold Robinson.

 

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