Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

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I just found a new (to me!) classical music blog from a Boise, Idaho violist named Jennifer Drake. Jen’s blog is titled Adventures of an Idaho Violist, and it is full of fun posts covering a wide array of subjects. Check it out! I added it to my Music Blogs blogroll [...]

This is a wild story that Memphis Symphony Orchestra principal bassist Scott Best passed along to me:
(from CNN.com)
Concert-goers, and even Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, were caught off-guard when a fight broke out on opening night at usually sedate Symphony Hall.
Television video of the fight Wednesday night showed two men struggling in the balcony [...]

 

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The next episode of Contrabass Conversations is now available for your listening pleasure. This episode features a talk with Lyric Opera of Chicago bassist Andy Anderson and music from the double and electric bass band Gunnelpumpers. Enjoy!
CBC 17 Show Notes

Episode Length: 47:12
Release Date: 4/22/07
Website: www.contrabassconversations.com
Blog: www.doublebassblog.com
Voicemail: 206-666-6509

E-Mail: contrabassconversations@gmail.com
Podcast t-shirts, hats, and more: [...]

Drew McManus is featuring several contributions from bassists this month for the Take a Friend to Orchestra initiative on his blog Adaptistration. I was just featured yesterday, and Bill Harris (from Facilitated Systems) was also featured earlier this month.
I’d like to direct people’s attention to Milwaukee Symphony double bassist Roger Ruggeri’s post from earlier [...]

The 2007 Whitewater Winter Bassfest, an event that I started five years ago at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, just happened a couple of weekends ago. Scott Kreger, the new double bass instructor at UWW and a member of the Milwaukee Symphony, was teaching there, as were double bassists Kate Nettleman and Peter Tambroni.
Evan Burchett, [...]

On An Overgrown Path recently highlighted a Milwaukee Journal article by music writer Tom Strini. Tom makes some interesting points in this article on the target demographic of classical music and the lack of cultural centrality of this music. Here is an excerpt from his column:
The survival of larger classical musical institutions, particularly [...]

Double bassist Kathryn Nettleman recently left a great comment on my Advice for Aspiring Music Performance Majors post. Kate has been a member of a full-time orchestra (The Naples Philharmonic), a member of the New World Symphony, and has performed with countless major symphony orchestras. Recent engagements include the Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, [...]

What, exactly, is a “regional” orchestra? For the purposes of this article, regional orchestras will be defined as organizations that employ professional musicians but do not offer a salary and other benefits of full-time employment. The organizational structure is virtually identical to the full-time symphony orchestra and is quite different from the community [...]

Most bassists who don’t hold the principal chair in a major symphony orchestra can count on one had the times that they get to play a solo in orchestra. Double bass is an instrument that does not usually fall into the solo spotlight during your typical orchestra concert, and any occasion to play a [...]

This series is based on my own experiences as a professional freelance classical orchestral musician. While everyone has a slightly (or vastly) different individual path in the freelance world, I believe that these experiences reflect what a growing majority of orchestral freelancers are dealing with in their professional lives.
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The traditional pot of gold [...]