Contrabass Conversations

It was a pleasure to chat with Leigh Mesh for the podcast! Leigh is the MET Orchestra Associate Principal Bass and teaches bass at Bard College. This is a fun and wide-ranging conversation with a ton of great advice throughout.

About Leigh Mesh:

Leigh Mesh, Associate Principal Bass, joined the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 1993. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, he has taught master classes at the New World Symphony in Miami, the Cincinnati Conservatory, the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Mesh has performed regularly at the Verbier Music Festival, and with the MET Chamber Ensemble, the Caramoor Virtuosi, and the Brentano and Tokyo String Quartets. He lives with his wife and two children in New York, and pursues cycling and skiing whenever he can. Mr. Mesh is an exclusive artist for Thomastik-Infeld Strings.

Links to Check Out:

• Leigh Mesh teaching and performing Brahms Symphony No. 2 on the New World Symphony's MUSAIC site
• Leigh's MET Orchestra page
• more about the Bard College bass program

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Robertson & Sons Violins

For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

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

In this conversation with recent Kansas City Symphony audition winner Nash Tomey, we dig into how Nash overcame a playing injury that threatened to derail his playing career. This is an inspiring and honest conversation about something that many musicians struggle with during their careers!

About Nash Tomey:

Philadelphia native Nash Tomey joins the Kansas City Symphony beginning with the 2017/18 season. An experienced orchestral bassist and chamber musician, he attended the New England Conservatory where he studied with Boston Symphony Assistant Principal Bass Lawrence Wolfe and Donald Palma of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Under the tutelage of Boston Symphony Principal Bass Edwin Barker, he received his master's degree from Boston University in 2017. During summers at the Tanglewood Music Center, Tomey has worked with several noted conductors including Andris Nelsons, Christoph von Dohnányi, Michael Tilson Thomas and Charles Dutoit. He also has attended the Pacific Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and Wabass Institute.

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D'Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

Robertson & Sons Violins

For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.

The English Double Bass Book

The English Double Bass Book examines the great English double bass makers of the 18th and 19th Century, illustrating in fine detail the incredible work they produced. It also explores the fascinating story of how the double bass came to England, its development guided by the great Venetian virtuoso Domenico Dragonetti, and the rise and fall of the English double bass makers. To pre-order your limited-edition copy, please visit www.theenglishdoublebass.com.

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

It was a pleasure to chat with Anthony Manzo about his career as a chamber music double bassist, traveling with a bass (always an adventure!), the unique qualities of Anthony's bass, and much more.

A special shout-out to Eric Roy of Upton Bass for connecting me with Anthony for this conversation!

About Anthony Manzo:

Anthony Manzo enjoys performing in a broad variety of musical forums - despite the ever-present complications of travel with a double bass! An artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Mr. Manzo is sought-after chamber musician who performs regularly at such noted venues as Lincoln Center in NYC, the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Maine, and the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival on Maryland's Eastern Shore. In addition, Mr. Manzo is also the Solo Bassist of San Francisco's New Century Chamber Orchestra, and a regular guest artist with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Smithsonian Chamber Society near his home in Washington DC. Formerly the Solo Bassist of the Munich Chamber Orchestra, he has also been a frequent guest with Camerata Salzburg in Austria, where collaborations have included their summer residency at the Salzburg Festival, as well as two tours as double bass soloist alongside bass/baritone Thomas Quasthoff in Mozart's "Per questa bella mano" (with performances in Salzburg, Paris, Vienna, Budapest, and Istanbul).

Links to Check Out:

• Anthony's University of Maryland page
• Anthony's Kennedy Center page
• about Anthony's removable neck conversion from Upton Bass

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Robertson & Sons Violins

For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

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

I had such a great time spending a week with Diego at Andrés Martin's bass festival this fall. Diego is one of the most inspiring double bassists I know, and he's doing great things for the double bass both in Spain and in his home country of Uruguay.

About Diego Zecharies:

Diego Zecharies is a highly dedicated professional musician who has mastered his art globally, branching out as recording artist, professor, soloist, principal bass, producer and pedagogue, born in Montevideo Uruguay, nowadays based in Spain.

Diego began his studies in his hometown, continues in Jerusalem and graduated with the highest qualification in the ÜdK Berlin (University of Arts Berlin) under the guidance of Prof. Rainer Zepperitz, Prof. Klaus Stoll and violin Prof. Ilan Gronich. During his studies, Diego performed as a principal bass at the Mahler Jugend Orchester, the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra. He won the Friczay Stipendium at Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin and played as a substitute with the Rundfunk Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.

Diego served as Principal Bass position in The Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the bandArt Orchestra, Brandenburg Symphoniker, Philharmonie Potsdam, and Sinfonica di Milano. He also is assiduously invited as Principal Bass at the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano, Switzerland); the Ensemble Les-Dissonances (Paris) with violinist David Grimal; collaborated with the the Israel Philharmonic; the Jerusalem Chamber Orchestra and the Luzern Festival Orchestra, recording together with Maestro Abbado many concerts for ARTE and for the Deutsche Grammophone.

Diego played chamber music concerts with Emmanuel Ax, Christian Zacharias and Elizabeth Leonskaya, symphonic concerts with world-class conductors such as Mehta, Maazel, Abbado, Nagano, Ashkenazy, Temirkanov, Pappano, Sinopoli, Ozawa, Welzer Möst and soloists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Yuri Bashmet, Anna Sophie Mutter, F.P. Zimmerman, Martha Argerich, Alfred Brendel, Maurizio Pollini, Gordan Nikolic and others, always as Principal Bass.

Diego is Principal Solo Bass in Galicia Symphony Orchestra from the year 2002.

Renowned as a very active and passionate soloist, Diego's research has brought him to perform some world-premiere material including entire unaccompanied Double Bass recitals, like at the BASS EUROPE Convention in Amsterdam 2014 and ISB World Convention 2015 in Denver (U.S.A) with great appreciation both critics and public.

Diego appeared as soloist with: the Chamber Orchestra of Galicia Symphony; the Camerata of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Montevideo; the Galicia Symphony Orchestra; the OJS of Montevideo, the Orquesta de Baja California,among others and gave the opening unaccompanied Double Bass recital for the UNESCO Chair Culture of Peace and Human Rights under the World Peace Forum 2010.

Diego has given numerous master classes in Europe, South América and South Korea, been assigned as coach on many youth orchestras across Spain and Germany and has recently been appointed as Director of the International Double Bass Festival of Montevideo and Director of the Double-Bass Cathedra of the Uruguayan National Orchestral Training Plan. This cathedra foresees a minimum of 3 seminars with solo recitals and telematic virtual master classes given throughout the year, plus an international festival every 2 years.

In Spain, Diego is the Artistic Director of the "ReSuena Project", which brings together kids from diverse cultural and social backgrounds, throughout the creation of youth symphony orchestras and choirs all over the city, project originally inspired on Venezuela's "El Sistema de Orquestas".

Links to Check Out:

• Diego's website
• Music For Double Bass Solo, Duo And Quintett (new album)
• Montevideo International Double Bass Festival

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D'Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

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

Today we feature innovate French double bass luthier Patrick Charton. Patrick has been turning heads with models like his B21, C21, and Suit-Bass for many years, and it was great to chat with him about how he developed these unique models.

About Patrick Charton:

Patrick Charton's new instruments have attracted the attention of many soloists and musicians from French and foreign orchestras. They have won many awards in various international competitions, including:

Gold Medals:

• Paris 1991 contrabass
• Portland 2004 contrabass

Silver Medal:

• Portland 2004 Cello

Sound Prize:

• Paris 2004 Cello
• Paris 2004 Alto

Quality Violin Making Certificates:

• Iowa City 2002
• Portland Quartet 2004 violin

Musicora innovation Prize:

• Paris 2003 Double bass B21

Links to Check Out:

• Patrick's Website
• Suit-Bass video

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D'Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

Robertson & Sons Violins

For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.

The English Double Bass Book

The English Double Bass Book examines the great English double bass makers of the 18th and 19th Century, illustrating in fine detail the incredible work they produced. It also explores the fascinating story of how the double bass came to England, its development guided by the great Venetian virtuoso Domenico Dragonetti, and the rise and fall of the English double bass makers. To pre-order your limited-edition copy, please visit www.theenglishdoublebass.com.

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

It was a pleasure to meet Carmen Rodríguez this past summer at the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention! She and I talk about growing up in Panama, the experience of coming to the United States to study, her professional ambitions, and much more!

About Carmen Rodríguez:

Carmen Liseth Rodríguez began her music studies in 2008 at the Instituto Nacional de Música in Panama. In 2016, she completed her Bachelor's degree in Music Performance at the Universidad de Panamá. She also holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration and Marketing. She is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Music at Louisiana State University. In Panama, she taught in several music programs for children in different provinces. Carmen has participated in the music festival Alfredo de Saint Malo in Panama, Bavarian Basscamp in Germany, and the Orquesta Juvenil Centroamericana. She won the second prize in the Young Artists Solo Competition at the Louisiana Bass Fest 2017.

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Robertson & Sons Violins

For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

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

Grammy Award-winning bassist and longtime Branford Marsalis collaborator Eric Revis joins Jason for today's deep-dive into growing up in California, being influenced by Parliament and prog rock, gut string explorations, and much more.

A special shout-out to Eric Roy of Upton Bass for connecting me with Eric Revis for this conversation!

About Eric Revis:

One of the most talented and accomplished musicians of his generation, Grammy Award-winning bassist and composer Eric Revis has, over the past 15 years, become an important voice in jazz. Branford Marsalis states, "Eric's sound is the sound of doom; big, thick, percussive." Scores of musicians across various disciplines agree. Revis has performed and recorded with Betty Carter, Peter Brotzmann, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Steve Coleman, Ralph Peterson, Lionel Hampton, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Cyrille, and Tarbaby (the experimental trio he tri-leads with Orrin Evans and Nasheet Waits).

Manning the bass chair with Branford Marsalis' powerfully flexible quartet since 1997, Revis has also recorded four brilliant albums as a leader. 2004's Tales of the Stuttering Mime and 2009's Laughter's Necklace of Tears have both revealed his startling range as a musician and composer. Informed by his past but not tethered to it, a glimpse into the musical trajectory of this artist is indelibly clear on his latest release Parallax (Clean Feed ) and the soon to be released City of Asylum (Clean Feed).

"Tales of the Stuttering Mime was an amalgam of songs I'd been composing for quite some time," Revis explains. "Being that there were a lot of different influences at play, it required that I use various band configurations on almost every tune, which was great in that I had a very real connection to all of the musicians involved." With Laughter's Necklace of Tears the same conceptual construct was in place in terms of the confluence of musical influences, but the goal was to present it in a more cohesive fashion in terms of having one group navigate the songs for the record as opposed to five or six".

Conceptually improvisational and thematically broad, Parallax (Clean Feed) is timeless and borderless. The albums' approach is one of inclusion, extrapolation and exploration. Joined by Jason Moran, Ken Vandermark and Nasheet Waits, it is a true document of Revis' growth as a composer, bassist and sounding board. As on previous recordings, Revis' playing is personal and distinctive: his tone deep and woody, his execution, agile, melodic and clear. A musical polyglot, Revis is comfortable in any setting, any direction. His skills as a band leader and composer are equally profound and inspiring.

Links to Check Out:

• Eric's website
• Tales Of The Stuttering Mime by Eric Revis
• After Hours at the Upton barn

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D'Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

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

Today's conversation with Atlanta Symphony bassist Karl Fenner is a deep-dive into auditioning, progress, long-term planning, and persevering through adversity. There's a ton of advice that you can use to help with your preparation for any upcoming performance, audition, or high-stakes event! About Karl Fenner:

Bassist Karl Fenner joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in January 2016. A native of Houston, TX, he received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Max Dimoff, and his Master of Music Degree from Rice University, with teachers Tim Pitts and Paul Ellison. Other teachers include, Albert Laszlo, Ken Harper, Dennis Whittaker, Sandor Ostlund, and Robert Stiles. Further training has included summers as a fellowship student at the Tanglewood Music Center and Aspen Music Festivals, in addition to the National Repertory Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, Spoleto USA and the Festival-Institute at Round Top.

Mr. Fenner joined the Colorado Symphony in 2008, serving as both section and principal bass. Prior to moving to Colorado, Mr. Fenner was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL. He has also spent time in the Canton Symphony in Canton, OH, and as a substitute musician with both the San Antonio and Houston Symphonies. As a recitalist, Karl performed at the International Society of Bassists convention in 2013.

As a teacher, Mr. Fenner served as the interim bass teacher at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and has given masterclasses at the University of Denver and the University of Colorado. He currently teaches at the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, CO during the summer.

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D'Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

Robertson & Sons Violins

For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

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

Catalin Rotaru has just released a new album titled The Lord of The Basses. This album features Catalin performing on Bottesini's famous 300-year-old Testore bass. Catalin has also released another project this fall titled Sonic Bridges Vol. 2. About Catalin Rotaru:

Catalin Rotaru was born in Moldova, a province in the far northeast of Romania, in the same region where Romania's most celebrated composer, George Enescu was born. Leaving home at the age of 11 and settling in the city of Botosani, he began his musical studies directly with the double bass. After only one year he transferred to one of the leading music schools in Bucharest, the G. Enescu Arts Lyceum. Upon his graduation he was admitted to the Conservatory, a great accomplishment, since at the time, only one bass player was admitted each year. As part of the admission process, he had to pass 5 exams: 3 instrumental - recital, technical proficiency, sight-reading and 2 theoretical - dictation, pure theory and solfeggio. His most influential teacher there was Ion Cheptea, a direct disciple of Joseph Prunner, an eminent bassist and visionary from Austria, who moved to Bucharest at the beginning of the 20th century and established at the conservatory one of the most distinguished schools of double bass.

Immediately upon graduation, he was offered a position with the Sibiu State Philharmonic, a major orchestra in Transylvania. Three years later he became associate principal with the Romanian National Radio Symphony in Bucharest. While still in Romania Catalin served as principal with the Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra of Bucharest and Orchestra Sinfonica Europea, with which he toured extensively throughout Europe.

In 1995 he emigrated to the U.S. after being offered a teaching assistantship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he also obtained a Master's Degree in music performance. He has also served as Associate Professor of Double Bass and Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and taught at Millikin University in Decatur Illinois before joining the faculty of the School of Music at Arizona State University, in 2005.

Since his arrival in the U.S. Catalin has been the recipient of many prestigious awards. He received the second prize at the 1997 International Society of Bassists Solo Division Competition and the Jury's Special Award for the best performance of the required piece at that competition. He was the winner of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Debut Recital Award in 1997, the Central Illinois Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters Award in 1996 and in 2013, was honored with the Recognition award for Solo Performance by the International Society of Bassists, which, being an award from his peers, is one of the highest forms of recognition that a solo double bassist can receive.

Catalin is one of the most in-demand International soloists of the day. His 2013 schedule alone included multiple appearances as soloist with various orchestras, performing recitals or conducting master classes at prestigious conservatories in Brazil, Japan, China, The Netherlands, Russia, Romania, Italy, Ecuador and Paraguay as well as the U.S. He also found time to perform the premieres of two new works for the bass: Andres Martin's Double Bass Concerto and Frank Proto's Sonata No. 2 for Double Bass and Piano, and serve as a juror at many of the world's most prestigious solo bass competitions.

His debut solo CD, Bass*ic Cello Notes was released by Summit Records in March 2007 and in 2010 released his second CD entitled Juliana D'Agostini + Catalin Rotaru which was recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2012 Catalin recorded his third CD, in collaboration with the National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay, which includes the world premiere of a double bass performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5.

Links to Check Out:

• Catalin Rotaru on Liben Music
• The Lord of the Basses
• Sonic Bridges Vol. 2

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

The English Double Bass Book

The English Double Bass Book examines the great English double bass makers of the 18th and 19th Century, illustrating in fine detail the incredible work they produced. It also explores the fascinating story of how the double bass came to England, its development guided by the great Venetian virtuoso Domenico Dragonetti, and the rise and fall of the English double bass makers. To pre-order your limited-edition copy, please visit www.theenglishdoublebass.com.

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

I had a great time chatting with Susan Wulff for the podcast! Susan is Associate Principal Bass of the San Diego Symphony and is a longtime friend of mine. She is an active Contemporary and Hip Hop dancer and loves to build things as well.

About Susan Wulff:

Susan Wulff is the Associate Principal Bass with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double Bachelor of Music degree in bass and vocal performance at CSU, Sacramento, completing her Master of Music and Advanced Studies degrees at the University of Southern California under the tutelage of Dennis Trembly, followed by private studies with David Moore.

In addition to the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera Orchestra, Susan has been a member of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and New West Symphony, and she has worked extensively with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra. Susan's musicianship and versatility have garnered her work in diverse genres: she has performed on many Hollywood soundtracks and appeared with Willie Nelson, Julian Lennon and Andrea Bocelli on The Tonight Show, as well as recording with Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves. Susan's "jazzy" side can also be heard on several of Hallmark's loveable "Hoops & Yoyo" e-cards.

Susan has participated in several prominent music festivals including Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, Mainly Mozart, Peter Britt, Pacific Music Festival and the National Repertory Orchestra where she was a featured soloist in 1999. Her other passions include Contemporary and Hip Hop Dance, gourmet food, single malt scotch and building things.

Links to Check Out:

• Susan's San Diego Symphony profile
• Finding the Horizon - written for Susan Wulff by Howard Yermish
• New Yorker article about Susan's Metropolitan Opera Orchestra audition

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Robertson & Sons Violins

For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D'Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

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