Contrabass Conversations

This short episode features a look at the 2021 Wabass Institute , with short interviews from faculty members Ranaan Meyer, Eric Larson, and Hal Robinson.   Enjoy, and you can also check out this video for a deep-dive at this year's event.   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bas...

This mini-episode digs into the Rabbath Institute Los Angeles , with a short interview from event founder Cielito De Jesus.   You can also check out this video featuring behind-the-scenes footage from this event.

Jason digs into why he keeps doing this podcast after so many years in this solo mini-episode.   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle . Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course , ava...

Nick Tsiavos recently put out a new solo album titled Maps for Losing Oneself to considerable critical acclaim .   We dig into the inspiration behind this latest solo album, what the pandemic has been like for him, the influence of Francois Rabbath and Barre Phillips on his music path, and much more.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out more about Nick on The Sound Barrier with Ian Parsons and also o...

Isaline Leloup has recently released an album of 18th Century Viennese Bass Music .   We talk about how she got into historical performance, the inspiration behind the album, what it was like to record it, and much more.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out Isaline's album on Spotify and Apple Music , and learn more about her on Facebook and YouTube !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interview...

Rodney Jordan and Christian Fabian have recently released a new album of bass duos called Conversations.   We chat about the idea behind this album, what it was like putting it together, and much more.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out Conversations on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you listen to music!   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check...

We're chatting with Eleanor Martindale about this summer's RCR Double Bass Camp , which will be coming up August 16-21 in Perpignan, France. We talk about how the camp is organized, the teachers that will be there, and much more. Enjoy, and you can learn more about the RCR Double Bass Camp on their website , Instagram , and Facebook !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to...

Christian Gray joined the double bass section of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra at the start of their 2017-2018 Season.   Prior to his appointment, he performed frequently with numerous other ensembles, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, and San Antonio Symphony.   We talk about what life in an opera orchestra is like, how he prepared for this particul...

Ben Hanlon is a bassist in the Melbourne Symphony and is also an active jazz bassist.   He and James Sherlock have recently released a new duo album titled Stravinsky , and his trio Ball Hanlon Schulz has also released a new album titled Land Of If . We talk about these new projects, life in Melbourne during the pandemic, and much more.   Enjoy, and check out more great work from Ben and his colla...

Noah Reitman has been assistant principal bass of the Vancouver Symphony since 2015 and is also currently the president of the Vancouver Musicians' Association.   He also coaches bass and chamber music at Idyllwild Arts in California in the summers.   He is also on the faculty at the VSO School of Music where he teaches bass lessons and coaches chamber music, as well as the Saint James Academy of...

Bram De Man is a double bass luthier in Brussels, Belgium.   After first studying as a bass player, at the age of 18, he was admitted to the Ghent Conservatory to study musical instrument making, graduating with a first-class distinction and receiving an honorary bequest for his research into D-violones and the early double bass.     After these studies, he traveled throughout Europe to expand his...

Travis Harrison is a freelance bassist in Toronto and a former member of the Winnipeg Symphony.   As a former student of Joel Quarrington , Travis worked with Joel for many years to develop and refine the Canadian School of Double Bass , which has been recently updated and released in a new edition for both fourths and fifths tuning.   We talk about Travis' background, living and playing bass in v...

Today's episode features a conversation with Camellia Aftahi , Michael Martin , and Tyson Davis about Bass Players for Black Composers .   This organization commissions and publishes new works for double bass by Black composers, and it is celebrating its one-year anniversary with an ambitious fundraising campaign for future projects.   We talk about the founding of the organization in June of 2020...

Today's episode features a conversation with Paul Leverger, who heads the marketing team for the music score reading app Newzik .   Newzik just rolled out a new LiveScores feature which uses Maestria , their AI-driven Optical Music Recognition technology.   This new feature allows for any PDF or paper score to be turned into an interactive document. Enjoy, and Contrabass Conversations listeners ca...

Patrick Staples is a bassist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and has begun making bows recently.   We talk about growing up in Canada, moving to Los Angeles to attend Colburn and study with David Allen Moore and Paul Ellison, further studies with Tim Pitts at Rice University, and landing his job in Calgary.   We also dig into how Patrick got started repairing bows, getting into making bass...

Christopher Jeffer is a double bassist and recording engineer who recently released a solo bass album titled Cat's Cradle .   We dig into the inspiration for this album, what he has learned about recording double bass, the challenge of doing this recording during the pandemic, goals for the future, and much more. Check out Cat's Cradle on Spotify , Apple Music , and Bandcamp , and be sure to follo...

Trevor Jones and Jason talk about the behind-the-scenes work behind the launch of the Double Bass Blog Sheet Music Store in today's special mini-episode.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out the store for over 100 titles covering different styles, techniques like harmonics, repertoire for solo double bass, 2 basses, and more! Every purchase goes directly to the double bass community.   Subscribe to t...

Rob Knopper is a percussionist with the MET Orchestra , and he is a force of nature in the online learning world, with his popular auditionhacker program and other associated ventures.   We talk about what the last few years have been like since our previous interview in 2016 , how his online programs have evolved, what the pandemic has been like for him, recent launches, thoughts on music entrepr...

Today's episode features a discussion with the following luthiers about the 2021 Build a Bass event in conjunction with the virtual International Society of Bassists Convention : Dustin Williams Trevor Davis Joey Naeger Mitch Moehring Madeleine Crouch (ISB General Manager)   Enter the 2021 ISB Build-a-Bass Sweepstakes by Saturday, June 12 at 11:59 PM Central Time for your chance to win this bass!...

Nicky Schwartz just released Stolen Pearls with his wife Anna Fedorova, including the most epic double bass album trailer ever .   Nicky and Anna call themselves the Oyster Duo , and in this album they uncover all kinds of pieces not commonly played on bass.   We talk about the new album, Nicky's journey through the music world, what it's like playing in the Concertgebouw Orchestra , starting to g...

Nina DeCesare recently joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2020 after spending several seasons playing with the Oregon Symphony.   She studied at Rice University with Paul Ellison and leads an active performing and teaching life outside of the orchestra.   We talk about what the pandemic has been like for her, auditioning for a job while holding down another job, how non-ideal audition circ...

Jonathan Borden is a double bassist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and a graduate of Juilliard.   He has recently launched an awesome YouTube Channel and is filming detailed tutorials about all kinds of double bass topics.   We dig deep into YouTube tech talk, the joys and challenges of being a "YouTuber," Jonathan's future plans for his channel, and much more.   Enjoy, and be sure to che...

Tony Alcock is Double Bass Section Leader for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.   He has previously been Principal double bass of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and section leader with the BBC Now (Wales), BBC SSO (Scotland), Scottish Opera, and Co-Principal with the Halle.   We talk about all kinds of topics, including Tony's path through the music world, what the pandemic ha...

Isaac Trapkus joined the New York Philharmonic in November 2016. Before joining the Philharmonic he was a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and, before that, principal double bass of the New Haven Symphony while he was studying with Leigh Mesh, associate principal bass of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.   Isaac also volunteers as a designer and administrator with IMSLP , the online sheet...

Marc Gelfo is the founder of Modacity , which has transformed my practice habits during the three years that I've been using it. We dig into what Marc has been up to since our last podcast chat , the power of deliberate practice, new features coming for Modacity, the new iPad edition, and more. Enjoy, and check out this special lifetime offer that Marc has set up for Contrabass Conversations liste...