Contrabass Conversations

Ian Hallas has had quite a journey on the road to his position as Principal Bass of the Lyric Opera Orchestra. We first spoke for the podcast in early 2016 after winning a section bass position, and he won three additional auditions for Lyric for title chairs.

We talk about what it's like auditioning for another job in your same orchestra, how his audition process has evolved since our conversation four years ago, what he learned along the journey, and much more!

Ian teaches bass privately and also for Northwestern University, so don't hesitate to send him an email if you'd like to study with this incredible teacher!

About Ian:

Ian Hallas began his tenure as Principal Bass of the Lyric Opera Orchestra in 2019 after joining the section in 2016. He holds a bachelor's degree with Distinction in Research and Creativity from Rice University where he studied with Paul Ellison as well as a master's degree from the University of Southern California under David Moore. He has also been heavily influenced by Chris Hanulik and Todd Seeber and has worked extensively with master luthier Mike Shank. In addition to the Lyric Opera, Ian has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit, Atlanta and Milwaukee Symphonies and the Grant Park Orchestra.

Ian was an award-winning fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. He was also an invited guest chamber musician at Spoleto Festival USA where he performed with the St. Lawrence quartet and members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Additionally, he has attended the Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and Domaine Forget Summer Music Academy. He serves on faculty at Northwestern's Bienen School of Music and maintains a private studio on the north shore of Chicago. He also teaches at the National Music Festival and was a teaching assistant at the Double Bass Workshop at BUTI.

In his spare time, Ian enjoys running, laughing and spending time with his wife, playing with his two Siberian Forest cats and expanding his bourbon collection.

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass!

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Thank you to our sponsors!

Ear Trumpet Labs - They make hand-built mics out of Portland, OR and they have an excellent mic for upright bass called Nadine. The Nadine is a condenser mic with a clear natural sound and incredible feedback rejection. This mic is a completely new design -- the head mounts in between the strings above the tailpiece with a rubber grommet, and the body securely straps to the tailpiece with velcro elastic. A 14-inch Mogami cable connects the two parts making it easy to place on any bass. It's durable and holds up to the demanding needs of the instrument while offering excellent sound quality. Ear Trumpet Labs is offering a free t-shirt just for Contrabass listeners with the purchase of a mic, just visit EarTrumpetLabs.com/contrabass to claim yours and check out the Nadine!

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Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Musicians for the World is a non-profit incorporated in the spring of 2020 to give free musical education to students in need globally. So far, they have over 150 students in Haiti, Peru, and Mexico.

Bassist Adam Rowton reached out to me about doing an interview with him and co-founders Jesus Saenz and Kelley McGarry, and it was great to learn about this new organization and their inspiring mission.

Jesus, Kelley, and Adam are looking for staff and volunteers as they continue to increase their fundraising efforts, so be sure to contact them if you would like to get involved in some capacity. Learn more about this new organization on their website, and follow along with them on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Fumi Tomita just released a new album called Celebrating Bird: A Tribute To Charlie Parker. This new release from Fumi explores the ideas of Bird in a fresh and creative way.

We dig into all kinds of topics, like what it was like growing up in New York City, Fumi's move into academia, and his current position at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the surprises and opportunities of this career pivot, and much more.

Check out the latest album and more on Fumi's website, and be sure follow along with him on YouTube and Instagram!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Chris Lightcap is a bassist and composer with over 80 album credits and six critically acclaimed albums of original music. Chris is known for his work with Marc Ribot, Regina Carter, Craig Taborn, and many other noted artists, and his 2019 album SuperBigmouth was listed by Rolling Stone in their Best Jazz of 2019 article.

We dig into Chris' early years, his circuitous path through the music world, his appearance on the burning ambulance podcast, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to check out Chris and his great albums on his website and follow along with him on Facebook snd Instagram!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Here's a deep-dive into the process I used to plan for my Beginner's Classical Bass course on Discover Double Bass.

Get course for 25% off until Sunday September 27 by following this link: https://bit.ly/JASON25

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED

Rob Knopper - AuditionHacker https://www.robknopper.com/auditionhacker

forScore - https://forscore.co/

Notion - https://www.presonus.com/products/notion

Dorico - https://new.steinberg.net/dorico/

Gary Karr course from DC Music School - https://www.dc-musicschool.com/store/in-the-style-of-gary-karr-vol1/

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double bass podcast - https://contrabassconversations.com

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newsletter: https://doublebassblog.org/email

course - https://courses.discoverdoublebass.com/p/beginners-classical-bass/?coupon_code=JASON

Heidi Kay Begay is the host of the Flute 360 Podcast as well as a flutist, teacher, and non-profit organizer. She and I connected to talk about all things podcasting, and she cross-posted this conversation on her podcast as well.

We dig into content creation, daily and weekly routines, social media and marketing, email newsletters, and much more. Heidi also recently featured my friend and colleague (and fellow bassist!) Garrett Hope, which was an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation.

Enjoy, and be sure to follow Heidi's great work on Instagram and Facebook!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

I've had the good fortune to work with Alan Lewine on the International Society of Bassists board for several years, and his artistic journey has always seemed fascinating to me. The recent release of Sephardic Treasures, his latest album with his wife Ana María Ruimonte, was a good excuse to sit down and chat about his multifaceted career and unconventional journey.

We dig into Alan's path through the music world, the decision to go to law school and the career shift that resulted, this new chapter in his life after retiring, the latest album, and much more.

Check out the latest album here and on Ansonica Records, and be sure to follow along with Alan and Owlsong Productions on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Tomoya Amori is truly one of the most well-rounded musicians I've ever met. Not only is he an incredible bass player, but he also subs as a percussionist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and has a vibrant career as a multi-genre cellist!

Tomoya and his wife Julia Kang form AKDuo, which specialize in playing jazz/classical/pop fusions composed or arranged by Tomoya. They also run performance workshops titled "Be Creative!" and have performed worldwide.

Learn more about Tomoya and his creative explorations on the AKDuo website, and follow their YouTube Channel to check out Tomoya's super-interesting Cello Vlog!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

It's great to have Katie Thiroux back on the podcast to chat about her new show The Hump. Katie was on the podcast in 2018, and it is so inspiring to follow along with her artistic career.

We talk about our respective Discover Double Bass courses, including Katie's "baseball card," which I hold up at the beginning of our chat. We mostly dig into her new show The Hump, online teaching, and how she has been spending her time during the quarantine.

Be sure to follow The Hump on Instagram, and check out Katie's great course From Beginner to Bandstand on Discover Double Bass!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

On today's episode, we're featuring Mark Dresser and William Parker in a discussion about Deep Tones for Peace 2020.

Here's a description of the current project, which is a continuation of the Deep Tones for Peace international event in 2009:

Deep Tones for Peace 2020 is a regular streaming of live meditations for peace, healing, and transformation. Musicians transmitting deep tones to counterbalance the many systemic injustices woven into the fabric of our society. Deep tones can strengthen the unseen bonds of our diversity as we oppose economic, educational, and environmental inequities fueled by racism, sexism, and greed.

The idea is to play your bass for 5-30 minutes with the intent of musically sending healing vibrations to be felt worldwide. Participation is open to all bassists who wish to join in an ongoing musical transmission of vibrations for peace. Any style or form of music and any level bass player can generate Deep Tones for Peace. The main requirement is the intent and desire to create peace in the world. We truly believe this project will have a positive impact on the balance of life.

If you'd like to get involved, email [email protected], and check out the archive of all past performances on the Deep Tones for Peace Facebook Group.

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!