Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

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I have had the unfortunate experience of doing many all night drives over the years to get from one gig to another. This is never fun. The main problem is that I work in Memphis, Tennessee and in Chicago and Wisconsin. IRIS Chamber Orchestra concerts will start in Memphis at [...]

All of the IRIS bass section substitutes have gone on to have great full-time orchestra jobs:
Charles Carlton - Cleveland OrchestraMatt Medlock - Naples PhilharmonicIra Gold - National SymphonyJeff Kail - Kansas City Symphony
My stand partner Scott Best has been principal bass of the Memphis Symphony since the beginning of IRIS. The two of [...]

I recently discovered that some IRIS Chamber Orchestra recordings are available on iTunes. Search the iTunes Store for the Gliere Horn Concerto and you will find a recording that we did a few years ago with Eric Ruske.
There are four great audio clips of IRIS that you can listen to on the IRIS website. [...]

The IRIS Chamber Orchestra does not operate like a typical symphony orchestra. It reminds me much more of a summer festival atmosphere (like Aspen or another such festival). We perform approximately one concert a month during the regular season (September through May). Since we only get together once a month things always [...]

I am down in Memphis, Tennessee right now preparing for a concert tomorrow night with the IRIS Chamber Orchestra. I have been a member of this fantastic ensemble since its inception seven seasons ago, and I am having a great time preparing for the first concert of this 2006-2007 season.
This concert features violin soloists [...]

Polyphonic.org has an informative new post from Eric Beers, contract administrator for the Symphonic Services Division of the American Federation of Musicians. Flying with the bass (or any musical instrument) has grown increasingly more difficult with each year after 9/11. In 1997 and 1998 I flew about seven or eight times a year [...]

Here are a few final shots of the Music by the Lake concert series that I did this past wekend. I will be up in Williams Bay, WI again in two weeks to play with the Three Irish Tenors.
Here you can see the extreme slope of this campus. The golf carts were for [...]

Check out this audio piece from NPR at the link below. It is with Michael Stern, the music director for the IRIS Chamber Orchestra (of which I am a member). The piece that Michael is conducting was played at IRIS two seasons ago, and it is really an incredible piece. Baroque composer [...]

I have performed with Wu Man when she played with the IRIS Chamber Orchestra. One of the pieces we played was the Lou Harrison Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra, and one movement used only three musicians-Wu Man, myself, and the principal cellist. The cellist and I had to hit out instruments with sticks. [...]

Chamber Opera ChicagoGian Carlo Menotti’s opera “The Consul” at the Athenaeum Theatre Performances are 7:30 p.m. Saturday 4/1 and 3 p.m. Sunday 4/2 at the Athenaeum, 2936 N. Southport. Tickets are $25-$35; $20 for seniors and students. Call (312) 902-1500 or (773) 869-1770
I have performed many times at the Athaneum over the last few [...]