I fondly recall the very first Chicago Bass Festival back in 2009. Allan Dennis, Jerry Fuller, and I had been chatting about the need for a festival like this for quite some time.  As director of the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, Allan had the resources to mount this new project. Bennett Gordon Hall at Ravinia (the summer home of the Chicago Symphony) became the host site and has remained so for each subsequent festival.

Here’s a favorite shot of mine from the very first festival!

This festival takes place in the first few months of the new year, which can be a chilly time in Chicago.  I always feels nice to escape the cold with some great music and conversation at Ravinia!

A Look Back at the 2017 Chicago Bass Festival

Here’s a video that I put together highlighting some the events at this year’s festival, which took place on Sunday, March 5th:

You’ll hear some great playing and teaching plus some short interviews with:

• Alex Hanna – Artistic Director for the festival and Chicago Symphony principal bassist
• Andrew Anderson – Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony, Roosevelt University, Wheaton College
• Phillip Serna – Valparaiso University
• Trevor Jones – Illinois Wesleyan University
• one of the students attending the event

One new addition to the 2017 festival was the bass choir. Here they are rehearsing a couple of excellent arrangements from past International Society of Bassists president John Kennedy:

Michael Cameron of the University of Illinois rehearsing the bass choir! #chicagobassfestival #doublebass #contrabass #universityofillinois

A post shared by Jason Heath (@jason__heath) on Mar 6, 2017 at 9:30am PST

Interviews with several Chicago Bass Festival clinicians

I’ve had the chance to interview many of the 2017 CBF faculty for my podcast Contrabass Conversations:

• Alex Hanna – Chicago Symphony, DePaul University
• Andrew Raciti – Milwaukee Symphony, Northwestern University
• Phillip Serna – Valparaiso University
• Rob Kassinger – Chicago Symphony, DePaul University
• Michael Hovnanian – Chicago Symphony, DePaul University
• Trevor Jones – Illinois Wesleyan University
• Eric Hochberg – jazz bassist and bandleader
• Ian Hallas – Lyric Opera of Chicago
• Alan Steiner – Chicago Sinfonietta
• Andrew Anderson – Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony, Roosevelt University, Wheaton College

I featured several of these clinicians in my book Winning the Audition as well. It’s always great to catch up with these old friends in person!

I’ll also be featuring an interview with Jon McCullough-Benner, the new principal bassist of the Milwaukee Symphony and a great addition to the 2017 CBF faculty.

Past Presentations from Jason at the CBF

I’ve had a great time presenting at the Chicago Bass Festival each year. In 2016, my good friend Trevor Jones and I presented a talk on auditioning for music schools. You can check it out below:

More Coverage of the 2017 CBF

For 2017, I took the year off from doing a session and spent the day soaking in all the great teaching and playing around me. Here are a few highlights that I posted on Instagram:

Chatting with Alex Hanna at the Chicago Bass Festival! #chicagobassfestival #doublebass #contrabass

A post shared by Jason Heath (@jason__heath) on Mar 7, 2017 at 1:12pm PST

Rob Kassinger of @chicagosymphony and @depaulsom teaching a master class at the Chicago Bass Festival ??

A post shared by Jason Heath (@jason__heath) on Mar 8, 2017 at 7:17am PST

Trevor Jones of @molehillmusic and @il_wesleyan warming up for the Chicago Bass Festival! #chicagobassfestival #doublebass #contrabass

A post shared by Jason Heath (@jason__heath) on Mar 10, 2017 at 8:52am PST

I can’t wait for the 2018 Chicago Bass Festival–hope to see you there!