Contrabass Conversations

We are featuring a series of crazy gig stories that I had recorded in the first phase of the podcast. I had a total blast doing these back in the day and hope to do more of these in the near future. You'll be hearing four of my own stories on this episode: My Car Caught Fire and Exploded Bugs Bunny is my Mortal Enemy Annoying Conductors 101 Auditioning is a Rotten Pastime The last story is from po...

Today's episode is a bit of a departure from the norm for us. This is a recording of a talk I did for the Illinois American String Teachers Association 's Fall Teacher Enrichment Workshop in October of 2015.  I have been involved with this organization for many years and am their current state chapter president.  I have done presentations like this many times in the past (you can find them in the...

We are featuring Bruce Bransby on today's show. Bruce has been professor of double bass at Indiana University for three decades and has taught bass players who now hold positions in major orchestras worldwide. Bruce has also been a faculty member at the Aspen Music Festival for this same length of time. Prior to that, he served as principal bass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Kansas City...

Jason talks about his rapidly approaching move to San Francisco and discusses what's in store for the show.

We are featuring Andrew Raciti on this week's show.  Andy is the acting principal bass of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He is also the head of the double bass studio of the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. Before joining the Milwaukee Symphony in 2006, Mr Raciti was associate principal bass of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Australia. He has also performed with the Detroit...

Today's episode features Indianapolis Symphony principal bassist Ju-Fang Liu . We had a great conversation about growing up in Taiwan, her years studying at the Interlochen Arts Academy and at Indiana University with Lawrence Hurst and Bruce Bransby, her time in New World, teaching, playing jazz, studying bass overseas, and several other topics. We also feature excerpts from her wonderful solo alb...

Today's episode features longtime collaborator John Grillo performing Mozart's aria Per questa bella mano . So, today's episode features John performing Per Questa Bella Mano with John Dennison singing and Andrew Hauze on piano. In addition to being our third interview guest for the podcast way back in 2007 (almost ten years ago at this point!), John and I have co-interviewed many prominent bassis...

Today we are featuring an interview with Marc Ramirez. Originally from New York, Marc is the principal bassist with the Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbon, Portugal . Marc and I had a great conversation about his path to this job overseas, where he has now been for 17 years. We talk about similarities and differences in American and European orchestras, auditioning, traveling with a bass, his beautifu...

Today's episode features Lauren Pierce and Geoff Chalmers , both of whom have been doing some remarkable things online in the world of the bass. What's really cool is that these two have paired up to do a new web series called Ask Geoff and Lauren . In this episode, we talk about each of their respective sites and what they've been developing online. You can find Geoff online at discoverdoublebass...

It is our pleasure to bring you this interview with Paul Ellison . Paul is chair of strings and professor of double bass at Rice University, where he has taught for the past four decades. He is the former principal bass of the Houston Symphony, former president of the International Society of Bassists, and has had a significant impact on the double bass world.  In this interview, we discuss Paul's...

We are featuring Blair Tindall on the podcast today. Blair is the author of the book Mozart in the Jungle , which explores the world of classical musicians in a very compelling narrative.  Blair and I talk about life as a New York freelancer, her journey into a career as a writer, and we take a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the production of the TV series. Mozart in the Jungle has been turned int...

  About Shigeru: Born in Tokyo, Japan, Shigeru Ishikawa is one of the foremost double bassists of his generation, both as a performer and a teacher. He is currently He is currently Solo Bass (ie. principal bass) of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. Shigeru previously served as the principal double bass (Solo Kontrabass) of the BernerSymphonieOrchester in Bern, Switzerland, which he s...

Today we talk with Los Angeles Philharmonic bassist Brian Johnson, who has just released an app for iOS called Learn Double Bass .  What a cool app!  This app (currently free!) contains over 70 videos that clearly cover a specific bass topic.  These videos range from the very first steps (tuning the bass, rosining the bow) to more advanced concepts like spiccato.  In addition to these videos, the...

We are featuring our complete interview with former Indiana University and University of Michigan double bass professor Lawrence Hurst on this week's Contrabass Conversations episode.  This interview was broadcast in the early days of this show in three separate parts, and we are pleased to present the complete and uninterrupted interview on this week's show.  This episode was co-hosted by John Gr...

We're featuring San Francisco Symphony Principal Double Bass and  University of Michigan faculty member Scott Pingel on this week's show.  In addition to holding down the principal bass chair for the San Francisco Symphony, Scott taught for several years at the San Francisco Conservatory, and he served as Principal Bass of the Charleston Symphony prior to his appointment in San Francisco. This was...

We're featuring an interview with bassist Larry Gray on this week's episode.  Larry's multi-instrumental path has taken him through performance on guitar, flute, cello, and piano in addition to bass.  Larry is in high demand as a jazz bassist in Chicago, performing regularly for decades at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase , and he teaches at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign .  Enjoy! About...

Here's another popular episode from the Contrabass Conversations archives.  If you haven't check this episode out before (or even if you have), you'll be in for a real treat as we explore the world of the double bass with Mr. Barker. We're featuring Boston Symphony Principal Bassist Ed Barker on this week's Contrabass Conversations episode. Conducted by Contrabass Conversations co-host John Grillo...

This week's episode contains a recital I did about ten years ago on the Karr-Koussevitzky Double Bass .  I was thrilled to have this opportunity and thought a lot about what sort of repertoire would be best suited for a recital like this.  Eventually I settled on a traditional program that I thought tapped into some aspect of either Gary Karr or Koussevitzky.  Lyric Opera of Chicago bassist Greg S...

This week, we bring you an interview with  Indiana University  double bass professor  Kurt Muroki . Kurt is an outstanding performer, teacher, and artist, and we had a great conversation about teaching, learning, and performing. Enjoy! About Kurt Muroki: Former Artist Member with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Professor Kurt Muroki began his musical studies on the violin at the age o...

We're featuring an interview from the podcast archives with Los Angeles Philharmonic bassist and University of Southern California bass instructor David Allen Moore on the podcast this week. David also teaches bass during the summer at the Domaine Forget program in Quebec. In this interview, we chat about his early years on the instrument, teachers that have influenced him, his time in the Houston...

We are thrilled to bring you this interview with Chicago Symphony Orchestra Principal Bass Alex Hanna . In addition to his responsibilities leading the bass section of the CSO, Alex teaches double bass at DePaul University and is active as a clinician, soloist, and chamber musician. About Alex: Inspired by the sound of the symphony orchestra, Alexander Hanna at age 13 decided to pursue a career as...

This week, we're featuring an interview with double bassist Barry Lieberman . The former Assistant Principal Bass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Principal Bass of the Winnipeg Symphony, Barry now serves as co-director of The American String Project , an innovative string ensemble which features arrangements of string quartets for small string ensemble with double bass. In this interview, we d...

This special Contrabass Conversations episode features an interview with composer Paul Ramsier .  Though Paul is particularly well-known for his collaborations with Gary Karr, he continues to remain quite active as a composer and has a number of interesting projects in the works. Throughout this interview, you will hear excerpts from Divertimento and Silent Movie, two of Paul's most popular compos...

We're bringing you an interview with double bassist Charles DeRamus on Contrabass Conversations this week. Charles is a member of the Gothenburg Symphony and has worked extensively in both Europe and the United States during his professional career. Charles has recently written a children's concert for double bass quartet and narrator called "Greta's Dream" which has been performed at many venues...

This week on Contrabass Conversations, we're bringing you rare footage of Serge Koussevitzky performing a few selections. Enjoy this trip back in double bass history, brought to you by double bassist John Grillo !