I hope you’re having a great tail end of July! We’re enjoying warm and sunny days over here in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco.
As always, there’s a lot going on in the double bass world this week. Here’s a run-down.
Judges Announced for Bradetich Competition
The judges have been announced for the 2nd Bradetich Foundation International
Double Bass Solo Competition (September 1-5):
- Artem Chirkov – principal bassist of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic 2010 Bradetich Competition winner (interview link)
- Thierry Barbé – Paris Conservatory faculty and Opéra National de Paris principal bassist (interview link)
- DaXun Zhang – University of Texas Austin faculty and soloist (interview link)
- Fouad Fakhouri – Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor for Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, Cairo Symphony Orchestra and Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra
- Hans Jørgen Jensen – Northwestern University cello professor
What a line-up!
Here’s an excerpt from ¡Viva el Bajo! LIVE! this past May where I chat with Jeff Bradetich about the genesis of the Bradetich Foundation.
I’ll be at this event and covering it live on Facebook. We’ll be covering everything from the opening reception through the final round, with live footage of competitors, behind-the-scenes interviews, and much more. Stay tuned, and check out my conversation with Jeff Bradetich about this event for more details!
Here’s a short video of DaXun warming up the campers from this summer’s Golden Gate Bass Camp:
Events
Peabody Bass Works looks like a great time! Ira Gold, Paul DeNola, Kim Parillo, Paul Johnson, Jeff Weisner, David Young, and all the other faculty at this summer’s Peabody Bass Works. Here are some photos from faculty member Tracy Rowell (also a former Contrabass Conversations interview guest). I also chatted with event coordinator Wesley Thompson back in the spring about Bass Works.
Congratulations to Milton Masciadri and everyone else involved at the Vale Veneto International Festival!
Lauren Pierce has been on faculty this summer at the University of North Texas Summer String Institute. They just put out a Facebook Live video of the faculty concert from July 27. Fast-forward an hour in to hear Lauren!
Diego Zecharies (who has a great solo CD out now, by the way!) will be appearing at the 2nd International Festival de Contrabajo de Montevideo this December. Stay tuned for more details, and check out this great short video with some behind-the-scenes footage of Diego’s latest album.
Watch Trevor Davis Build a Bass
Trevor Davis (luthier at Robertson Violins) launched a new website recently where he’s detailing the step-by-step process of building a bass. Here are some recent posts:
Be sure to check out my interview with Trevor if you haven’t previously–it’s great!
How Wood Affects Sound
Have you ever wondered how different wood choices affect the tone of a bass?
I had a wonderful chat with luthier Seth Kimmel about the different tonal characteristics of spruce, pine, redwood, walnut, maple, and other woods. Seth does a lot of work with different woods for his basses, and it’s remarkable how the wood choices change tone and response.
I also put together a tonewood comparison chart based on Seth’s descriptions. Check it out here.
Fun Stuff to Click On
- check out Kieran Hanlon and colleagues at SUNY Fredonia play A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (interview link for Kieran)
- Claus Freudenstein and company have a great short video of them rocking out at a Bassmonsters rehearsal (interview link for Claus)
- press release for Todd Coolman joining the IU Jacobs School of Music faculty (interview link for Todd)
- advice on buying a sub-$200 bow
- new post from Monika Kwiatkowska about challenges in the Bottesini and Dittersdorf concerti
- Dan Robbins: How to Practice Paths to Improvisational Mastery
- Adam Rowe is doing a Kickstarter to record his bass quartet Hail
- Jonathan Glawe (next week’s podcast guest) is blogging about Pioneer High School Orchestra’s journey to perform at the Midwest Clinic
- congratulations to Carnegie Mellon student Cody Roseboom, who just won a position with the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra
- I checked out a Groupmuse chamber music concert for the first time last week – interesting concept!
I’ll also be doing a bunch of new interviews in the next couple of weeks, including one with Australian bassist Elsen Price. Check out this video for a window into his unique style.
That’s it for this week! You’ll be hearing interviews from Dennis Whittaker and Jonathan Glawe next week. Two multifaceted musicians with great life stories!
If you have any news you’d like shared, send me an email and let me know.
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