Contrabass Conversations

Erica Bramham just released Enamel , her third album, and her first self-recorded release. We talk about how the pandemic inspired these compositions, what it was like shooting the music videos for this album, what the pandemic has been like for her in Melbourne, thoughts on future projects, and such more.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out Erica's work on her website , Bandcamp , YouTube , Instagr...

Mary Rannie is the principal double bass of the Victoria Symphony in British Columbia, Canada, the double bassist in the Galiano Ensemble, and former bass instructor at the University of Victoria.   She is also the author of Gary Karr: Life on the G String , which chronicles the remarkable career of one of the most influential bassists in history. We talk about the inspiration for the book, the de...

Michael Fuller is currently a Resident Bass Fellow at the Los Angeles Philharmonic .   Prior to that, he spent three seasons with the New World Symphony. We talk about Michael's background, growing up in Philadelphia, discovering the bass, his time spent at Eastman and Rice, learning Sofia Gubaidulina's Eight Studies for Double Bass , what the pandemic has been like for him, much more. Enjoy, and...

Daniel Chiva Sanz recently recorded his own orchestration of the Second Double Bass Concerto Op. 25 by Findeisen .   We dig into how this work was lost in a fire, leaving only the nearly impossible to play piano reduction.   We also cover how Danny discovered the work, the compositional style of Findeisen, challenges and pleasures of learning this work, and much more.   Dani also plays through a g...

Peter Rofé has been a bassist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1986. He began his orchestral career as the principal bassist with the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera and held those posts for fourteen years. He also recently started a YouTube Channel where he sings and play bass with arrangements of classic songs.   We talk about Peter's background, what it was like playing in the...

Kenneth Knudson recently released an album titled Uummat which was inspired by working on the Western Greenland island of Uummannaq. Knudsen was exposed to the vast, calm and awe-inspiring natural surroundings, which were the first catalyst for a new set of compositions. Soon, a second incidence added a new dimension to the music. During a dinner with the leader of the local orphanage, Knudsen was...

Evangeline Tang, Phoebe Clarke and Yijia Cui started the Bassists with Boobs Instagram account in July 2020 to improve the online representation of bass players and create a positive and empowering community.   We talk about their recent Leeds trip to do an interview with Geoff Chalmers of Discover Double Bass , the idea behind founding the channel, rewards, and challenges of the work they're doin...

Roberto Cassani has just released an intriguing new album titled Ansema We Stand .   This album is a mix of world and folk music, blending the cultures of Scotland and rural northern Italy, Roberto's two main homes with some of Scotland's finest musicians.   We talk about the new album, how the pandemic has been for him, his "other life" working in health care and what that has been like this past...

Mark Helias is a renowned bassist, composer, and producer who has performed throughout the world for more than four decades with some of the most important and innovative musicians in Jazz and Improvised Music including Don Cherry, Edward Blackwell, Anthony Davis, Dewey Redman, Anthony Braxton, Abbey Lincoln, Cecil Taylor, and Uri Caine.   Mark recently released Some Kind of Tomorrow with saxophon...

Petru Iuga currently holds a professorship at the University of Music and Arts in Mannheim, Germany and Haute École de Musique de Lausanne.   Having received his first training in his native Romania, he was selected by Yehudi Menuhin for the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad (Switzerland).   After further training at the Hochschule der Künste-Bern and the Conservatoire national supérie...

Bernardo Alviz was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia.   He started his music studies at the age of 17 and holds a Bachelor's degree from the Universidad Javeriana in Bogota as well as a Bachelor's and Master's degree from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin in Germany. Bernardo is a passionate performer of contemporary music and has performed in some of the most renowned festivals inclu...

Shawn Conley leads an inspiring life playing all kinds of music.   He has been playing with the Silkroad Ensemble for six years and is a member of the Brooklyn-based chamber orchestra The Knights . We talk about growing up in Hawaii, his paradigm-shifting first International Society of Bassists Convention and how it shaped his development, his path into his current career, and much more. Enjoy, an...

Travis Gore has held a position with the Seattle Symphony and currently maintains a private studio of students in South Seattle. He remains an active studio musician and can be heard on major film and game soundtracks such as Men Who Stare at Goats, Valkyrie, Halo, Dragon Age and more.   He has recorded with many recording artists like Bryan John Appleby, Hey Marseilles, Wall of Ears and composes...

Learn about the latest Young Bassist program offerings for the 2021 International Society of Bassists Convention in this special episode! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 80+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle . Check out m...

Stephen Street has been establishing himself as one of the most versatile emerging UK bassists.   Equally adept at jazz and classical music, Stephen has studied with Leon Bosch, Chris West, and many other noted UK teachers.   He has also started his own publishing house and has the goal to put our urtext editions of all of Bottesini's works. We talk about Stephen's background, his publishing plans...

Anne-Gabrièle Douce is a French bassist and pianist currently living in London.   She has built a fascinating career both in the piano and double bass worlds, and she is remarkable at telling her story on platforms like Instagram .   We talk about her early years, similarities and differences in piano and bass pedagogy and performance, what the pandemic has been like for her, and many other topics...

Makram Aboul Hosn is a Lebanon-based jazz bassist and composer.   He is also the band leader of Ad-Hoc Trio and the Aboul Hosn Quartet, and has recently released a new album titled Transmigration . We talk about life in Lebanon, the Beirut jazz scene and the impact that the port explosion has had on the country, Makram's studies and time spent in Europe and New York, and much more.   Enjoy, and ch...

John Goldsby is one of the world's best-known jazz bassists and a course creator for Discover Double Bass .   His latest course Tell Your Story covers the topic of developing jazz soloing abilities. We talk about this course, what it's like filming courses for Discover Double Bass, John's latest album Segment ( check out his website for more info), his very cool recent set with the John Goldsby Tr...

Dave Anderson is one of the most well-known composers writing for the double bass.   In addition to being internationally acclaimed as a composer, Dave serves as Principal Bass for the Louisiana Philharmonic in New Orleans and for the Britt Festival Orchestra in Oregon. We dig into all kinds of topics, like what the past year has been like, Dave's recent compositions, including his Nonet for Musai...

Charles Laux is the orchestra director at Alpharetta High School in Alpharetta, Georgia, and is the host of the excellent Orchestra Teacher Podcast .   He also runs an incredible website and YouTube Channel dedicated to orchestra teaching, and he is an active clinician and presenter. We talk about our shared podcasting roots, Charles' path through the music world, his work as a college music educa...

Ivy Wong is a member of Switzerland's Orchestre De La Suisse Romande and has had a fascinating path through the music world.   We talk about what it's like playing and living in Switzerland, growing up in Hong Kong and moving to New York for college, the ups and downs of freelancing and auditioning in the US, the set of coincidences that led to her auditioning for her current job, mental practice,...

We are talking about the release of Bariolage - Duets for Violoncello and Double Bass by 2LOW , a cello and bass duo made up of San Francisco Symphony members Charles Chandler and Amos Yang .   We are also joined by composer and San Francisco Opera and Ballet bassist Shinji Eshima , who composed the title track for this release from 2LOW. We talk about how Charles and Amos got started in music, Ch...

Mitch Moehring is the owner and operator of Mitch Moehring Strings , a locally owned and operated lutherie shop based in Kilgore, Texas. Mitch Moehring Strings specializes in hand-crafted 5/8 basses with grandiose sound.   Mitch Moehring Strings offers a variety of services including string instrument repair, bow rehairs, rentals, and instrument/bow/supply sales. We talk about Mitch's path into th...

Tobias Glöckler is the associate principal double bass player at the Dresdner Philharmonie and a prizewinner of the International ISB Double Bass Competition (USA). He studied with Konrad Siebach at the Music Conservatory in Leipzig, perfecting his skills with Jeff Bradetich (Chicago) and Ulrich Lau (Stuttgart).   While studying, he was the principal double bass player with the International Gusta...

James Barket is Orchestra Director at Webb Bridge Middle School in Alpharetta, GA. He also teaches bass at Kennesaw State University, and he did the English translation for Alfred Planyavsky's groundbreaking book The Baroque Double Bass Violone .   We start out by talking about the Midsummers Music Festival and Allyson Fleck, the Assistant Artistic Director.   She used to teach at Kennesaw State U...