Originally from Ireland, Bernard O'Neill has been a bassist, arranger, and educator for over 30 years. He works regularly with Sinead O’Connor and Rufus Wainwright, and he recently put out a project called Syriana: The Road to Damascus.

We cover a wide range of topics, including:

• how double bass has actually been in Middle Eastern music for a long time
• how North African orchestras always had double basses, from the colonial times onward
• different scales used in Arabic music and how specific the quarter tones and decorations are
• bass section proclivities
• micing techniques for orchestra
• how he got into arranging (his grandfather was an arranger and a band major in the British army)
• how many talented arrangers came out of Dublin with Bernard
• deep and multifaceted discussion around teaching improvisation to advanced string players
• how Bernard structures his writing and balances it with performing, teaching, and other projects

Bernard is doing great things for the music world, and it was a pleasure to sit down and chat with him!

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