Double Bass News for 8/25/17

I hope you’re having a good week! The momentum of the fall is picking up for me for sure.

Big News!

I’m thrilled to be joining the International Society of Bassists Board of Directors as their Communications Chair! I’m a huge fan of the organization and have been a member for over 25 years.  I’m also a past board member (2007-2012).

You can check out the announcement from ISB president (and past podcast guest) Nicholas Walker here.

Here are the first two things I’m doing as Communications Chair:

1. I’m getting the ISB’s Twitter account going again.  I actually started it in the day, and I lost the password long ago, so I’m the one to blame if you’ve been following along without response from ISB!
2. I just started an ISB Instagram account–-yay!

Competition Time

I’ll be heading down to the the 2nd International Bradetich Competition next week and will be live streaming a lot of it on Facebook.  Be sure to like the Bradetich Foundation’s Facebook page and follow along via email for coverage from this event.

Here’s the schedule–we’re live streaming the bold events, and you can click here to download a copy of the schedule and follow along:

Thursday, August 31, 2017

• 6:00 pm Opening Ceremonies The Commons, College of Music

Friday, September 1, 2017

• 10:00 am 1st Round of the Competition Voertman Hall, College of Music
• 12:35 pm Lunch
• 2:00 – 3:50 pm Competition Resumes

Saturday, September 2, 2017

• 10:00 am 1st Round of the Competition Voertman Hall, College of Music
• 12:35 pm Lunch
• 2:00 – 3:50 pm Competition Resumes
• 6:00 pm Announcement of those advancing to the 2nd Round

Sunday, September 3, 2017

• 10:00 am 2nd Round of the Competition Voertman Hall, College of Music
• 1:30 pm Lunch
• 2:30 – 5:20 pm Competition Resumes
• 6:00 pm Announcement of those advancing to the Final Round

Monday, September 4, 2017

• Labor Day Holiday – No Events Scheduled

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

• 1 – 3 pm Cello Master Class – Hans Jørgen Jensen Voertman Hall
• 1 – 3 pm Double Bass Master Class – DaXun Zhang Green Room, Rm. 251
• 3 – 5 pm Double Bass Master Class – Thierry Barbé Green Room, Rm. 251
• 6:30 pm Silent Auction Opens Lobby, Murchison PAC
• 7:30 pm Final Round Concerto Concert Winspear Hall, Murchison PAC
• Intermission – Silent Auction Closes Lobby, Murchison PAC
• Announcement of Winners Winspear Hall, Murchison PAC

Check out all 21 contestants here.

Upton Bass Featured in The Strad

Gary at Upton Bass has a new feature out in The Strad covering laminated vs. solid bass ribs:

Speaking of Upton, I just had Upton artist Lucia Turino from The Devil Makes Three on the podcast!  This band totally rocks–here’s a video of them in action:

Susan Wulff shares her creative spark

Here’s a video featuring San Diego Symphony and Sun Valley Summer Symphony bassist Susan Wulff sharing thoughts on creativity.  Very cool!

Chatting with Larry Grenadier

I also featured Larry Grenadier on the podcast this week.  Larry is a sweet and thoughtful guy in addition to being a groundbreaking musician, and it was a pleasure to have him on the show!

As I was doing pre-interview research (one of my favorite parts of the whole process), I found this track.  Larry takes a solo early on, and the whole atmosphere of the track is hauntingly beautiful to me.

Tasty Bite-Size News

• Double Bassist Damon Smith is a Driving Force in Out-Jazz
• Orchestral Etiquette from Richie Hawley
• 5 Things That Are Hurting Your Playing – Discover Double Bass lesson with Lauren Pierce
• New Brahms chamber music editions featuring double bass
• Bass and Bow Repairs from Monika Kwiatkowska
• Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra bassist Christian Gray: featured musician
• Four alternative methods to make sure your practice efforts survive the pressures of performance
• Frank Zappa on the death of the recording industry

Podcasting like a maniac

I’m continued to be in awe of the amazing conversations I get to take part in through my podcast.  In the past week-and-a-half, I’ve chatted with Gary Peacock, John Goldsby, Caitlyn Kamminga, Jennifer Rosenfeld, Zach Rowden, and Jeff Denson.  What a cool experience!

I’ve also got conversations coming up with a ton of great folks:

• Orin O’Brien – New York Philharmonic
• Don Palma – Orpheus, Yale, New England Conservatory
• Patricia Weitzel – Sphinx Chamber Orchestra and Drake University
• Charles Chandler – San Francisco Symphony
• Alexandra Scott – Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Professor for Double Bass at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe
• Milton Masciadri – University of Georgia

Here’s what’s coming out over the next few weeks:

• August 28 – Caroline Emery – UK-based double bass teacher, author of Bow Works and Bass is Best!
• August 31 –Benedict Puglisi – Australian luthier – Christian McBride and Larry Grenadier play his basses!
• September 4 – Susan Cahill – Colorado Symphony bassist and University of Denver faculty
• September 8 – Gary Peacock – longtime bassist for Keith Jarrett
• September 11 – Jeff Denson – California Jazz Conservatory faculty and collaborator with Lee Konitz and others
• September 14 – Todd Parks – bassist for Sam Bush and many others

I think I’ve got to speed up my recording studio workflow to get all these great conversations published!

That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend, and keep up the bass love!