Ithaca College

• State: New York
• Private School
• School Website
• Music School Central Top 10 Colleges for Music Education for 2014 (#3)
• 2017 ISB Convention Host

Nicholas Walker, bass faculty

• Email Nicholas
• Nicholas’s Website
• Contrabass Conversations Interview
• Request Information directly from Ithaca

General Statistics

• US News Ranking: #8 in Regional Universities North
• US News Overall Score (out of 100): 87
• Tuition & Fees 2017-18: $42,884
• Room & Board 2017-18: $15,274
• Total Enrollment: 6,678
• Acceptance Rate (from 2017): 70%
• Student – Faculty Ratio: 11:1
• 4 year graduation rate: 69%
• % of undergrads receiving Financial aid: 67%
• Average Financial Aid: $25,787

Double Bass Statistics

• Average number of undergraduate bass students: 12
• Average number of graduate bass students: 1
• Studio Class, Orchestral Repertoire Class, Bass Ensembles, Technique Class

What Alumni Are Doing

• Undergraduates have left Ithaca College with full-ride graduate assistantship offers to Rice, Curtis, USC, Northwestern, CIM, Peabody, and programs in Germany, France, and Hungary.

Perspectives from Students and Alumni

Q: What are some favorite memories about studying at this school?

A: Getting to play at Lincoln Center with the Symphony Orchestra.

A: Awesome lessons with Nick, going to Lincoln Center with our orchestra and choir, hiking on beautiful trails both on and off campus, hanging out with the very close bass studio

Q: How did this school help prepare you for your future endeavors?

A: Studying here has taught me the importance of versatility on my instrument, and also how to be organized and pragmatic with my time. Both of these components are very crucial in the professional world.

A: The multi-faceted approach to bass playing taught here has allowed me to be qualified to take gigs in a variety of musical styles, even while still a student.

Q: What advice would you offer others thinking about studying at this school?

A: Take a lesson with Nick, have an honest conversation wth him about your goals, then decide if this school is the best possible place for you to achieve your goals.

A: It’s always great to meet Nick for a lesson before you apply, and hang out with the studio while you’re here. We’re a tight knit bunch and always like meeting prospective students!

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share about this school?

A: The school offers a chance to study outside music as well, with awesome courses in a variety of fields. There’s an amazing programs in film, theatre, business, health sciences, and the humanities, and it’s nice to draw from those resources while you’re here.

Kiefer F, Zane C

Perspectives from the Bass Faculty

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

A: These students are amazing; a huge supportive family of inspiration and creativity!

We do it all: orchestral, solo, jazz, old, new, yours, mine, theirs. All musical approaches are welcome. It’s all about learning to manage your time and energy to meet YOUR goals. Being yourself is all you were ever meant to be. What does that look like with the bass? Read Nicholas’s perspective.

About The Bass Faculty

Nicholas Walker is a musical omnivore, a musician who brings a broad range of training and experience to the double bass – classical and jazz, modern and baroque, concertos, solo recitals, chamber ensembles, and orchestral work. His enthusiasm and aptitude transcend arbitrary musical boundaries. Walker is an Associate Professor of Music at Ithaca College, and is President of the International Society of Bassists, and was Artistic Director/Convention Chair for the 50th Anniversary ISB convention in Ithaca in 2017. Walker leads a rewarding career as a freelance musician, composer, and educator. Walker has given masterclasses and performances in over a dozen countries, including guest residencies at leading conservatories in the U.S.A., Seoul, Amsterdam, the Hague, Oslo, Hanover, Leipzig, Rostock, Adelaide, St. Petersburg, and Beijing. As an orchestral musician, Walker has freelanced with the Oslo Philharmonic, the National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada, the Handel & Haydn Society Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic. As a soloist he has premiered a concerto by Dana Wilson, and was featured at Berlin Bass 2010, several International Society of Bassist Conventions, Michaelstein Kaleidoskop, and the Beijing International Double Bass Festival. A Fulbright Scholar, Walker has diplomas from Rice University, the Nadia Boulanger Conservatoire de Paris, and Stony Brook University; earning his Doctorate in early music at Stony Brook University in 2004. Walker has been featured on a dozen CDs, three as a leader, and has frequently been heard on NPR’s Performance Today. As a composer Walker has written two double-bass concertos, several chamber works, as well as solo bass pieces, one of which won first prize in the ISB Composition Competition.