University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley

• State: Texas
• State School (public)
• School Website
• ¡Viva el Bajo! South Texas Double Bass Festival
• UTRGV Double Bass Facebook Page

George Amorim, bass faculty

• • Contrabass Conversations Interview
  • Email George
  • George’s Website

General Statistics

• • US News Ranking: #176 (tie) in National Universities
  • US News Overall Score (out of 100): 32
  • In-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $9,654
  • Out-of-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $25,428
  • Room & Board 2016-17: $9,936
  • Total Enrollment: 21,196
  • Acceptance Rate (from 2015): 61%
  • Student – Faculty Ratio: 14:1
  • 4 year graduation rate: 41%
  • % of undergrads receiving Financial aid: 65%
  • Average Financial Aid: $5,590

 

UTRGV double bass student Andrés Vela performs Bottesini’s La Sonnambula

¡Viva el Bajo! South Texas Double Bass Festival

Every spring, the South Texas Bass Club organizes a festival where invited guest artists from all over the world perform recitals, present workshops and teach master classes. (learn more)

About The Bass Faculty

George earned a doctoral degree from the University of North Texas where he studied under the world-renowned performer and pedagogue Jeff Bradetich. He also holds a Master of Music from Baylor University and a Bachelor Degree from the Ceará State University. In addition, George has also pursued studies with Francesco Petracchi and he devotes time to the study of historical performance practices subject in which he has received instruction from David Sinclair and Robert Nairn.

Dr. Amorim’s career is marked by versatility and creativity as a performer and educator with teaching and performances engagements that have taken him to Europe and across Central, South and North Americas. George performed for several years with the Paraná State and Recife Symphony Orchestras in Brazil as well as with the Santo Domingo Music Festival Orchestra under Philippe Entremont. He is currently principal double bassist with the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra and most recently he was invited to travel to Yerevan, capital of Armenia representing the USA in the 24/04 World Orchestra for a concert in remembrance of the 100th Year of the Armenian Genocide.

An educator in demand, Dr. Amorim’s articles on double bass pedagogy have been published by Bass World and Strings magazines. He has been a featured clinician, adjudicator and recitalist at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention in San Antonio, the Texas Double Bass Symposium, the International Society of Bassists Convention, the European Double Bass Congress and at the annual Chicago Bass Festival. ?

Dr. Amorim heads a thriving double bass studio at UTRGV, comprised of some of the most gifted young bass players from the RGV and a handful of equally talented international students. He also founded and directs the ¡Viva el Bajo!, an organization that promotes double bass playing in South Texas and helps inspire and guide young musicians in their studies of the double bass.

Dr. Amorim spends his summers teaching and performing in various programs in the US and abroad and this coming summer he will appear as artist-faculty at San Antonio Chamber Orchestra Music Institute and the Aruba Symphony Orchestra and Festival.

George performs on an unlabeled mid-1700’s bass, a 1860 French bass and an Aaron Reiley’s copy of a 1756 M.I. Stadlmann Viennese violone and several modern and historical bows, including a modern German bow by Marco Pasquino, a baroque bow by Antonio Airenti and a couple of transitional bows made by Ed Shillitoe.