Archive for Memphis
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How taking less work has led to more work for me
As I spend more of my time focusing on local activities (playing, teaching, etc.) and less on driving all over the country, I’ve gotten a chance to really take in this remarkable city that I live in. What a fascinating and multifaceted place metro Chicago is! I’m currently sitting on the Midway Pleasance, gazing [...]
National Symphony bassist Ira Gold now on faculty at Catholic University of America
Ira Gold, a member of the National Symphony bass section and a previous guest on the Contrabass Conversations podcast, is now on faculty at the Catholic University of America’s Benjamin T. Rome School of Music in Washington, D.C.
The school is accepting late applicants for Fall of ‘08. If interested, students can either view [...]
…and everything faded to black
Even in a ‘classic’ art form like music, one that existed well before the advent of electricity, we performers now completely and utterly depend on the power grid for our performances. While hospitals and other such foundational services may have emergency generators, I’ve certainly never seen a concert hall with one. When the power goes [...]
Scott Best performs Harbison Concerto with the Memphis Symphony
Memphis Symphony principal bassist (and my stand partner for the IRIS Orchestra) Scott Best will be performing the Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra by John Harbison of February 9 at the Cannon Center in downtown Memphis and February 10 at the Germantown Performing Arts Center. Details are available on the Memphis Symphony website. [...]
On the road….again
As I started to drive up to Milwaukee to begin my annual Nutcracker run, something suddenly struck me–I hadn’t left the state of Illinois since the summer! In fact, the furthest I’d wandered the whole fall was to take a few trips to Elgin, just 35 miles away from my lake front home.
The last [...]
Phillip Serna performs Tubin Concerto for Double Bass
We’ve got a real treat for folks today. Phillip Serna had to acquire special permission from the publisher of the Tubin Concerto for Double Bass in order for us to release it, and it is likely that many readers out there haven’t heard this piece before. I certainly haven’t found it on YouTube [...]
Volkan Orhon performs Harbison Bass Concerto - video
Memphis Symphony principal bassist Scott Best (who will be a guest on Contrabass Conversations in the coming weeks) recently pointed me to this great video from University of Iowa bass professor Volkan Orhon performing the Concerto for Bass Viol and Orchestra by John Harbison.
Check out the video of Volkan here.
This performance is part of [...]
Basses, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Part 5: All-Night Drives
This topic was actually the very first personal narrative ever attempted here on the blog, a little less than a year ago. While I still enjoy this previous post (with pictures of the described drive), the topic of all-night commuting is such a painfully bizarre one that I thought it could stand to [...]
This Crazy Business Part 5: Driving for Dollars – life as a classical music bottom feeder
One of my colleagues recently won positions in three regional orchestras. This very talented individual began his college career as a biochemistry major, later switching his major to double bass performance. This highly intelligent and talented scientific mind then focused his energies on becoming the best double bass player he could possibly be, practicing long [...]
CBC 41: Orchestral Excerpts Breakdown with John Grillo
This week’s Contrabass Conversations episode features an in-depth analysis of the double bass orchestral excerpts most commonly requested at auditions. Double bassist (and regular Contrabass Conversations guest and co-host) John Grillo discusses each of these excerpts–stylistic considerations, differences in articulation and bow strokes, and suggestions for effectively learning them–and then performs them. [...]
