- State: New York
- State School (public)
- School Website
- Map Link
- Music School Central 10 Best Hidden Gem Music School for 2017 (#5)
Tim Cobb, bass faculty
Todd Coolman, bass faculty
General Statistics
- In-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $8,267
- Out-of-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $18,117
- Room & Board 2016-17: $12,576
- Total Enrollment: 4,207
- Acceptance Rate (from 2015): 41%
- Student – Faculty Ratio: 15:1
- 4 year graduation rate: 49%
- % of undergrads receiving Financial aid: 61%
- Average Financial Aid: $9,253
Double Bass Statistics
- Average number of undergraduate bass students: 6-8
- Average number of graduate bass students: 1-2
- Studio Class, Bass Ensembles, Orchestral Rep Class, 2 combined studio Master Classes with Todd Coolman
What Alumni Are Doing
- Matt Abramo (Louisiana Philharmonic, 2010)
- Spencer Murphy runs sessions at Electric Lady Studios in New York and has toured the world with Gabriel Garzon Montano
- Dean Torrey is making the rounds and kicking up dust in NYC
- Mike Roninson is a member and song writer for the Band Vinegar Mother
- Matt Dwonszyk is an active bassist, arranger, and composer in NYC.
- Ivy Wong (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande)
- Matt Abramo (Nashville Symphony, formerly Louisiana Phil)
- Mathew Weber (Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra)
Perspectives from the Bass Faculty
Q: What are some of your favorite experiences teaching at your school?
A: There are many opportunities to meet and share musical ideas. The campus is near White Plains, NY, which is an easy commute to the city, so New York is always there to keep you on your toes. I actually like the fact that the campus is a little bit removed from that ‘scene’, because it gives the students a chance to develop their skills outside of the critical public eye. The nature of the program is such that, by the time they graduate, the students are ready for anything.
Kenny Washington, Matt Wilson, Ingrid Jensen, Todd Coolman, Richie Morales, David Hazeltine, Donald Vega, Andy Laverne, Ralph Llalama, Gary Smulyan, Alexis Cole, John Mosca, Vic Juris, John Abercrombie, David DeJesus, Doug Munro, Charles Blenzig, and director Pete Malinverni are all great reasons to attend.
About The Bass Faculty
Bassist Timothy Cobb joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Bass in May 2014, after serving as principal bass of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and principal bass of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra since 1989. He has appeared at numerous chamber music festivals worldwide, including the Marlboro Music festival, through which he has toured with the Musicians from Marlboro series.
A faculty member of the Sarasota Music Festival, he is helping to launch a new bass program for the Killington Music Festival in Killington, Vermont. Mr. Cobb also serves as principal bass for Valery Gergiev’s World Orchestra for Peace, an invited group of musicians from around the world who donate their time biannually and perform to promote international harmony. Mr. Cobb has been designated a UNESCO Artist for Peace from his affiliation with the World Orchestra. He has an ongoing collaboration with actor Stephen Lang, for whom he recorded a solo bass sound track for Mr. Lang’s animated short film The Wheatfield, which depicts a human drama from the Battle of Gettysburg. The two were invited to Gettysburg in July 2013 on the 150th anniversary of the battle to perform in the Salute to the States event held there, and they will continue to collaborate for future events.
Mr. Cobb serves as bass department chair for The Juilliard School as well as on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music, Purchase College, and Rutgers University. He is also a distinguished visiting artist for Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. A native of Albany, New York, Timothy Cobb graduated from The Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Roger Scott. While at Curtis, Mr. Cobb was a substitute with The Philadelphia Orchestra and in his senior year became a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Georg Solti. Mr. Cobb can be heard on all Metropolitan Opera recordings released after 1986, as well as on a recording of Giovanni Bottesini’s duo bass music with bassist Thomas Martin on the Naxos label.
Two-time Grammy Award–winning bassist Todd Coolman is among the more in-demand musicians on the New York music scene today. Since moving to New York in 1978, he 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.
Coolman has released four CDs as a leader, Tomorrows, Lexicon, Perfect Strangers,and Collectables. He has also written two books, The Bass Tradition and The Bottom Line. In addition to his busy performing schedule, Coolman is a jazz educator. He is a professor of music in the jazz studies program in the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College (SUNY), a program that he headed for 10 years. He was selected for the 2001–03 Doris and Carl Kempner Distinguished Professorship at Purchase and has received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
In 2010, Coolman was appointed director of the Skidmore Jazz Institute. In addition to being a visiting lecturer at the Prince Claus Conservatory in Groningen, Netherlands, he is also in demand as a clinician and lecturer at universities throughout the world and is frequently sought after as a writing and research consultant for jazz history and CD liner-note projects.
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