Manhattan School of Music

• State: New York
• Conservatory (private)
• School Website

Classical Bass Faculty

• Orin O’Brien
• David Grossman
  • Contrabass Conversations Interview
• Jeremy McCoy
  • Contrabass Conversations Interview
• Timothy Cobb

Jazz Bass Faculty

• Jay Anderson
• Larry Ridley
• Harvie S

General Statistics

• Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $42,500
• Room & Board 2016-17: $12,260

Double Bass Statistics

• Average number of undergraduate bass students: 10
• Average number of graduate bass students: 6
• Orchestral Repertoire Class, Chamber Music

Other Distinctions

• Music School Central Top 10 Colleges for Music for 2014 (#13)
• Christian Howes’ Best College Programs for Creative String Players

What Alumni Are Doing

• Noah Reitman (Vancouver Symphony, 2015)
• Daniel Tosky (Atlanta Symphony, 2015)
• Michael Fuller (Philharmonia Orchestra – UK, 2009)
• Jon Rouse (Quebec Symphony, 2009)
• Ed Paulsen (Kansas City Symphony, 2008)
• Dan Krekeler (MET, 2005)
• Scott Pingel (San Francisco Symphony, 2004)
• William Schettler (Louisiana Philharmonic, 2004)
• Suisse Romande Orchestre

Perspectives from the Bass Faculty

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

A: Coaching the Gunther Schuller Bass Quartet: annual BASSFEST for my students.

Our wonderful faculty: we all share students, and like and respect each other. All our students seem to like playing together and sharing meals too: a very friendly atmosphere at this school!

About The Bass Faculty

Classical Double Bass

New York Philharmonic bassist Orin O’Brien was born in Hollywood to parents in the film industry, George O’Brien and Marguerite Churchill, and received her early musical training in Los Angeles, where she studied with Milton Kestenbaum and Herman Reinshagen. She then studied in New York with Frederick Zimmermann and graduated from The Juilliard School, and is an alumna of the Music Academy of the West, now a partner in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy.

She has been a member of the New York Philharmonic since 1966, where she has played with the world’s leading conductors. She has participated in numerous chamber music festivals, including Marlboro, and in first performances of the Gunther Schuller Quartet for Four Double Basses. She co-chaired the double bass department of The Juilliard School for ten years, and currently serves on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and Mannes College of Music. Her most recent chamber music performances were the quintets of Schubert and Dvorak with the Guarneri String Quartet.

Double bassist and composer David J. Grossman enjoys a multi-faceted career in the realms of classical and jazz music, performing in concert halls, chamber music settings, and jazz venues worldwide. Born and educated in New York City, he joined the New York Philharmonic as its youngest member in Spring 2000. Mr. Grossman has been an ardent student of Orin O’Brien, with whom he now enjoys the pleasure of playing in the Philharmonic bass section. He is also a member of the double bass faculty of Manhattan School of Music.

As a soloist and clinician, Mr. Grossman has given recitals and master classes at music schools across the country, including the Boston Conservatory, Yale School of Music, the Hart School of Music, Penn State University, and the New York Summer Music Festival, as well as faculty recitals at Manhattan School of Music, among others. Mr. Grossman has released two albums—one classical and one jazz—entitled The Bass of Both Worlds.

Mr. Grossman, a passionate chamber musician, performs in the New York Philharmonic Ensembles Concerts at Merkin Hall and has performed at the 92nd Street Y as well as with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In 2011 he was a featured artist at the Mt. Desert Chamber Music Festival. In the field of jazz, Mr. Grossman was a member of the Marcus Roberts Trio and has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Lew Tabackin, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Mark O’Connor; he has recorded with Donald Vega, David Morgan, and Loston Harris.

Mr. Grossman’s compositions include Mood Swings for trombone and double bass (written for New York Philharmonic Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi), which delighted audiences during the 2010–11 New York Philharmonic Ensembles season at Merkin Concert Hall; Fantasy on “Shall We Gather at the River?”, available on former New York Philharmonic English Horn Thomas Stacy’s recording, Plaintive Melody; and two early compositions, Swing Quartet and String Quintet No. 1, which were premiered by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Jeremy McCoy, Assistant Principal Double Bass of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, joined the Manhattan School of Music faculty in 2008. Active as both soloist and chamber musician, he has performed as recitalist for the International Society of Bassists, CBC Radio, and at Lincoln Center, and as concerto soloist at the National Arts Centre, with the Louisiana Philharmonic and the Atlantic Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician Mr. McCoy has collaborated with many distinguished artists, performing at Bargemusic and at international festivals including Marlboro, Banff, Kneisel Hall, Grand Tetons, Bowdoin, and Lake Tahoe Summerfest.

Mr. McCoy began studying double bass in his native Ottawa, Canada. With the assistance of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, he continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. At age twenty, Mr. McCoy won a position with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. The following season he joined the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

Mr. McCoy was a founding member of the new music groups Sequitur and Ensemble Sospeso and appeared regularly with Speculum Musicae, giving premiere performances of chamber works by many important contemporary composers.

As a studio session player, Mr. McCoy has performed on an extensive list of motion picture and television soundtracks and has recorded with a diverse group of popular artists. His own solo recordings, Dialogues with Double Bass (2005) and Baroque Legacy (2012) have garnered popular and critical acclaim.

Mr. McCoy also teaches at Columbia University and is chamber music and orchestral coach for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. He has presented master classes throughout the United States, in Canada and Japan and has contributed articles to Strings magazine.

Principal bass of the New York Philharmonic, Timothy Cobb has been a member of the Orchestral Performance Program faculty at Manhattan School of Music since 1992. Outside of his duties at the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Mr. Cobb maintains a busy schedule of chamber and solo appearances. He has collaborated with many of the leading quartets and has appeared at many of the most prominent festivals both nationally and internationally. Mr. Cobb also serves as chair of the bass department for the Juilliard School and serves on the faculties of Purchase College and Rutgers University, as well as holding the title of Visiting Artist in Residence at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida.

Mr. Cobb began his studies at the age of seven and was playing professionally by thirteen. He graduated from the Curtis Institute, where he studied with Roger Scott. Mr. Cobb joined the Chicago Symphony under Sir Georg Solti, becoming one of the orchestra’s youngest new members. Following two years with the Chicago Symphony, he joined the Met Orchestra.

Mr. Cobb also serves as principal bass for Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival and for Valery Gergeiv’s World Orchestra for Peace, where he holds the title of Unesco Artist for Peace.

Jazz Double Bass

Bassist/composer Jay Anderson is among the most versatile and respected jazz artists performing today. Born in 1955 in Southern California, Anderson began playing acoustic bass at the age of 12. Throughout junior high, high school, and college, Anderson won numerous awards for excellence in both jazz and classical music. One week after receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Performance from California State University at Long Beach, Anderson was asked to join the Woody Herman Orchestra. After touring with the “Herd” for a year, he was called by Carmen McRae and performed with the legendary singer for the next two years.

In 1982 Anderson made the decision to move to New York City. Since moving East, he has continued to perform and record with some of the most important names in jazz. Anderson has been a regular member in the bands of Red Rodney & Ira Sullivan, Michael Brecker, Toots Thielemans, Bob Mintzer, Michael Franks, Eliane Elias, Bennie Wallace, Lew Tabackin, Steve Khan, Lynne Arriale, and was with Joe Sample from 1992 to 2006.

Anderson takes pride in his versatility and openness to different types of music. He has been featured on over 300 recordings, including work with Paul Bley, Randy Brecker, Bob Berg, Vic Juris, Mike Stern, Seamus Blake, Oz Noy, Adam Nussbaum, John Abercrombie, Donald Byrd, Terumasa Hino, Mark Soskin, Lee Konitz, Warren Bernhardt, Dalia Faitelson, Frank Kimbrough, Dave Stryker, Steve Slagle, Garry Dial, Dick Oatts, Andy LaVerne, Walt Weiskopf, Phil Markowitz, Joe Locke, Joey Calderazzo, Bob Sheppard, Tiger Okoshi, George Cables, Jay Clayton, Rich Perry, David Witham, Charles Blenzig, Jeremy Monteiro, Yosuke Yamashita, Mark Isaacs, and many others. He has performed with the big bands of Kenny Wheeler, Bob Mintzer, Bob Belden, Mel Lewis, Toshiko Akiyoshi, George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, WDR Köln (Germany), and the critically acclaimed Maria Schneider Orchestra whose 2004 release “Concert In The Garden” won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. He also performed on Maria’s 2007 release “Sky Blue” that won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition, “Cerulean Skies”.

Anderson has also done numerous jingles and non-jazz recordings with Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Chaka Khan, Michel Legrand, legendary poet Allen Ginsberg, and the Grammy Award winning 1997 Record of the Year “Falling Into You” by Celine Dion.

In addition to being a highly sought-after sideman, Anderson is a proven voice in his own right. His two original recordings on the DMP label, “NEXT EXIT” and “LOCAL COLOR” have received critical acclaim both in the U.S. and abroad.

Anderson has been the recipient of the NEA grant for composition and two Meet the Composer grants. Twelve of the recordings he has been featured on have been nominated for the Grammy Award. He has conducted clinics around the world and is a Professor of Jazz Bass Studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

Larry Ridley

Born:
September 3, 1937, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

Education:
Doctor of Performing Arts, University of Maryland Eastern Shore Master of Arts, Cultural Policy; State University of New York/Empire State College, 1993
Bachelor of Science, Music Education; Indiana University/New York University, 1971

Awards and Achievements:
National Endowment for the Arts: Jazz Panelist, 1974 1978 ( Panel Chairman, 1976 1978)
National Coordinator, Jazz Artists in Schools Pilot Program, 1978 1982.
Music Panelist, NY State Council on the Arts, 1987 1990; United States Information Agency, 1992
Numerous other State arts agencies (NC, PA, MI, NJ, OH)
Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation
Executive Director, African American Jazz Caucus of IAJE, beginning in 2001
Appointed to the Board of Directors, Madame C.J. Walker Theatre Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2001
Recipient of the Howard University Benny Golson Award, 2001
Inducted into the Downbeat Magazine Jazz Education Hall of Fame, 1999
Inducted into the International Association of Jazz Educators Hall of Fame, NYC Convention, 1998
Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Living Legacy Jazz Award, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., 1997

Leader, Bassist, and Artistic Director:
The JAZZ LEGACY ENSEMBLE®, 1985 to the present.

Jazz Artist in Residence:
Grambling College, Southern University, University of Utah, Drake University, Creighton University, Colorado College, Penn State University, Bowdoin College, Alcorn State, Bennington College, College of the Virgin Islands, University of Natal Durban, Schomburg Center/New York Public Library- 1993 to the present,

International Concerts, Nightclubs, Radio, Television, Recordings With:
Wes Montgomery, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Horace Silver, Benny Goodman, Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Roy Haynes, “Papa” Jo Jones, Newport Jazz Festival All Stars, Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie, Slide Hampton, Hank Mobley, Kenny Burrell, Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon, Josh White, Don Shirley, Carmen McRae, Dinah Washington, Mercer Ellington, Kenny Dorham, Milt Hinton, Slam Stewart, Billy Taylor, Red Garland, Betty Carter, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, James Moody, Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy, Milt Jackson, Art Blakey, Jackie McLean, Herbie Hancock, Dave Baker, Joe Kennedy Jr., etc.

Award-winning composer, arranger, and bassist Harvie S is continually challenging himself and his peers, expanding the borders of musical direction. He has performed and recorded with a long list of artists that includes Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Tony Bennett, Ray Baretto, Michael Brecker, Jean Pierre Rampal, Paquito D’Rivera, Gil Evans, Art Farmer, Mark Turner, Jim Hall, Stefon Harris, Billy Hart, Lee Konitz, Yusef Lateef, Dave Leibman, Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, Paul Motian, Chico O’Farrill, Danilo Perez, Maria Schneider, Zoot Sims, Toots Thielemans, Ray Vega, James Williams, Phil Woods, and Louie Bellson, among many others.

He can be heard on 15 CDs as a leader, 12 as a co-leader, and over 380 as a sideman: work that includes recordings with James Brown, Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Tom Harrell, Sheila Jordan, Steve Kuhn, Pat Martino, Wycliff Gordon, David Mathews, Virginia Mayhew, Eddie Henderson, James Moody, Danilo Perez, Anat Cohen, James Weidman, Jack Wilkins, Mike Stern, Dave Leibman, John Scofield, Dr. Billy Taylor, Dave Liebman, Yusef Lateef, and Grover Washington Jr.

Harvie’s 2011 CD Too Late Now (Ward Records) is culled from a 1988 session with pianist Bill Charlap and drummer Todd Strait. Cocolamus Bridge, his 2010 CD of original compositions (Blue Bamboo), reached no. 3 in national radio play. Now Was the Time with Kenny Barron (2008, High Note Records) was voted “Best of the Year” and topped the Jazz Week charts for over two months. Harvie’s piece “S” was a winner in the International Songwriting Competition.

As a bandleader Harvie S has performed at such venues as the Blue Note, the Iridium, the Kennedy Center, Montreal Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Yoshis, Toronto Jazz Festival, Sugarloaf Festival, Saratoga Jazz Festival, Sweet Rhythm, JVC Jazz Festival, Lake George Jazz Festival, Tblissi Jazz Festival, WBGO Summer Jazz Festival, the Kitano, and the Zinc Bar. Selected as Jazz Ambassador for the United States, Harvie S toured throughout Europe and Southeast Asia in this honored capacity.

A professor of Jazz Bass and Ensembles at Manhattan School of Music since 1984, Harvie S has conducted workshops and lecture demonstrations at, among others, the Kennedy Center, the New School, N.Y.U., Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, Amherst College, L’Escuela de Nationale (Havana, Cuba), Eastman School of Music, Berklee College of Music, William Paterson College, The Henry Third Street Music Settlement, and the Royal Academy of Music (the Hague).