Today, I’m flying to Denton, Texas for the 2nd International Bradetich Competition!
Be sure to like the Bradetich Foundation’s Facebook page and follow along via email for coverage from this event.
You can also Click here to download a copy of the schedule and follow along.
The Bay Area Lost a Great Bassist
Randy Keith, a longtime fixture in the San Francisco Bay Area double bass scene, passed away on August 25th. Randy was a warm and generous person, and we all miss him!
Here’s a shot of Randy and the rest of us in the bass section on a pops gig earlier this year:
He was a great guy!
Orchestral Auditioning Class
Gaelen McCormick will be starting her How to Win an Orchestral Audition class this week. Gaelen is the author of the Mastering the Bow series from Carl Fischer:
- Mastering The Bow, Part 1: Studies For Bass
- Mastering the Bow, Part 2: Spiccato
- Mastering the Bow, Part 3: Studies for Bass
She and I chatted about the third volume on the podcast back in June, and I also featured her in last year’s book Winning the Audition.
Training a New Generation of Luthiers in Trinidad and Tobago
Caitlyn Kamminga teaches at the University of Trinidad and Tobago and has had one of the most fascinating career paths imaginable.
Through a partnership with Luthiers Without Borders (suggested to her by Paul Ellison), her students Akil Patrick and Dionne Ayana Smith are attending attend internships in the United States at Potter Violins in Maryland and Huthmaker Violins in Atlanta, Georgia.
These students will help to fill a critical shortage of luthiers for this small Caribbean nation.
Caitlyn and I also chatted recently for the podcast, and we talked about these interning student luthiers. Look for that interview soon!
More Cool Happenings and Clickable Stuff
- Houston Arts Groups Begin Tallying Damage From Hurricane Harvey (from Adaptistration – best wishes to Dennis Whittaker and all the other fine folks in Houston during this crisis)
- congratulations to Nina DeCesare for this week’s recital, which she streamed on Facebook
- Dan Robbins has finally achieved the perfect bass tone!
- congrats to Dave Vergato for his new job as professor of bass at Winthrop University
- here’s a great shot of Owen Lee and friends with the great Thomas Martin (both past podcast guests!)
- Too many young double bassists prioritise solo technique over orchestral expertise – an article from Chi-chi Nwanoku that continues generate interest
- district leaders brush off San Francisco high schools suspension artist residence program (from SF Examiner)
- To Plug Its Massive Teacher Shortage, San Francisco Is Doing Everything but the Obvious (from San Francisco Magazine)
- American Health Council Names James VanDemark to Industry Board (James is also a past podcast guest!)
- Caroline Emery is in the midst of another great year of Bass Club classes
- Harvie S and Ben Rubens in the shop with Barrie Kolstein (Barrie is another past podcast guest!)
- Alex Ritter will be hosting a recital and masterclass with the wonderful Alberto Bocini
- how shenghua hu won 2 MET auditions in 2 years (from Rob Knopper)
- here’s an insanely good interview with Mark Zuckerberg (hour plus) and Reid Hoffman
- Every journey starts with “What if…?” (from Cal Fussman)
New Video from Adam Booker
We’ll wrap up this week’s news with this new video from past podcast guest Adam Booker. In this video, Adam covers pre-amps from Grace Designs, FeLiX and BiX.
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