University of California, Irvine

• State: California
• State School (public)
• School Website
• Map Link

Matt Hare

• Matt’s Website
• Email Matt

Darek Oles

• Darek’s Website
• Email Darek

General Statistics

• US News Ranking: #39 (tie) in National Universities
• US News Overall Score (out of 100): 64
• In-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $14,750
• Out-of-State Tuition & Fees 2016-17: $39,458
• Room & Board 2016-17: $12,947
• Total Enrollment: 30,836
• Acceptance Rate (from 2015): 39%
• Student – Faculty Ratio: 19:1
• 4 year graduation rate: 72%
• % of undergrads receiving Financial aid: 65%
• Average Financial Aid: $18,593

Double Bass Statistics

• Average number of undergraduate bass students: 4
• Studio Class, Bass Ensembles

What Alumni Are Doing

• Director of Operations at TravTours, management and logistics for major orchestras when they tour the world. Grad school at Stanford.

Perspectives from the Bass Faculty

Q: What are some of your favorite experiences teaching at your school?

A: I get the most enjoyment from seeing students unfold into mature musicians.

From Matt: At UCI I am joined by the fantastic Darek Oles who teaches jazz bass. In addition to on campus venues, both campuses are very near the Segerstrom Center for the Arts which hosts major artists and symphonies from around the world. The area also supports a freelance gig and teaching scene into which competent students can network.

My studio class combines students from both UCI and Concordia. We meet two or three times a month to do group exercises, read ensemble music, review excerpts, and workshop pieces for upcoming performances. We also host many master classes; past guests have included Leon Bosch, Joel Quarrington, Volkan Orhon, Philip Alejo, Rob Kassinger, David Murray, and Claus Freudenstein.

About The Bass Faculty

Matt Hare is well known as a performer and educator. He is on faculty at the University of California at Irvine, Concordia University, and Saddleback College. Dr. Hare also teaches several sections of Music Appreciation and History of Rock online and in the classroom at Saddleback College. He is a string coach at Irvine and Laguna Hills University high schools. He frequently gives recitals and master classes that often include his own transcriptions and arrangements.

Dr. Hare is a long-time member of the International Society of Bassists. He was a clinician for their Young Bassists’ program at the 2009 convention at Penn State, and the 2011 convention in San Francisco and presented a recital at the 2015 convention in Fort Collins.

Previously, he was first director of educational programs at Lemur Music, a retailer that specializes in the double bass. He has been on faculty at Luther, Cornell, and Wartburg Colleges and the Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival.

Dr. Hare is the principal bass of the Mozart Classical Orchestra and assistant principal of the Long Beach Ballet. Additionally, he freelances with many ensembles in Southern California, including the San Bernardino and San Diego Symphonies. He has been a regular member of the bass sections of the Quad Cities and Peoria Symphonies, and has played in the sections of many symphonies in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

He holds a BA from Bloomsburg University, a MM from Butler University and a DMA from the University of Iowa. Major teachers include Mark R. Jelinek, Diana Gannett, David Murray and Volkan Orhon.

 

 

Darek Oles began his career in his native Poland, working with saxophonists Jan Wroblewski, Zbigniew Namyslowski, and Tomasz Szukalski.

He arrived in Los Angeles in 1988, having received a scholarship from the School of Music at CalArts, and after graduation in 1992, he became a faculty member. He has since become one of the most sought-after bass players on the West Coast.

He remains busy in studios, concerts, and jazz clubs, freelancing with jazz greats such as saxophonists Charles Lloyd, Joe Lovano, Bennie Maupin, Ravi Coltrane, and Scott Hamilton; trumpeters Tim Hagans, Art Farmer, and Arturo Sandoval; pianists Billy Childs and Brad Mehldau; and drummers Billy Higgins, Joe LaBarbera, Larance Marable, Teri Lynn Carrington, and Albert “Tootie” Heath.