Bach Tempi with Matt Heller and Don Palma

Matt Heller recently wrote about a lesson he had with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra bassist Don Palma. Mr. Palma was a clinician for the New World Symphony recently, and he was working with the double bassists in this orchestra. Matt compares tempi of different recordings...

Intonation for Singers and Bassists

Here is an interesting post from the Chicago Classical Music blog. Bass vocalist Jonathan Miller gives some tips for thinking about intonation in the lower register, and his comments apply to the double bass as well:First and foremost: sing squarely in the middle of...

Miloslav Gajdos Arrangement of Monti Czardas

Here is a video of three double bassists (Vojtech, Gunars, & Marek) playing an arrangement of Monti’s ‘Czardas’ for double bass trio. This arrangement was done by the great Czech bassist, composer, arranger, and teacher Miloslav Gajdos. I saw...

Audition Process Discussion from Polyphonic.org

There is a great audition process discussion going on at Polyphonic.org right now, and it is definitely worth checking out. Panelists include prominent figures in the orchestra business, including musicians, union representatives, conductors, and negotiators. This is...

My Blog Quoted in Double Bassist Magazine

I just got a copy of the most recent issue of Double Bassist magazine, and a quote from my San Jose audition story starts out an article that they did on auditioning. It’s an honor that my story would be chosen to start this great article. The main body of the...