Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

705: Hans Roelofsen and Rudolf Senn on bass duo adventures

I’ve been following along with the musical adventures of Hans Roelofsen and Rudolph Senn for years.  They have toured the world as a bass duo, with 15 trips to the United States alone.

Throughout these trips, they have collected some fantastic stories.  We dig into these stories, how they came to play as a duo, challenges of transcription, the implications of choosing a particular key for an arrangement, and much more.  Enjoy!

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This podcast is brought to you by the International Online Bass Summit and the sponsors who are proudly involved with this event:

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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682: Lizzie Burns on chamber music and community engagement

It was a pleasure chatting with Lizzie Burns about the fascinating career that she has carved out for herself in the music world.  

New York City based bass player Lizzie Burns specializes in small ensemble repertoire and solo works of the 20th and 21st centuries. Lizzie is a recent alum of the Carnegie Hall based fellowship program Ensemble Connect, during which she cultivated audience engagement skills on and off stage as well as in public school classrooms and community settings.

As a roster musician of Decoda, Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble in Residence, she is able to continue that work alongside her extraordinary colleagues. She feels very lucky to travel the world and regularly perform with ensembles such as The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, The Knights, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as well as perform new works and collaborate with composers alongside the International Contemporary Ensemble.

Lizzie’s musical life started in rock and fusion bands, and she currently enjoys employing her rhythm section chops in the musical theater world. She was the bass player for “Moby Dick” and “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” at Boston’s American Repertory Theater, and in 2016-17 she could be found regularly at Broadway’s Imperial Theater in the onstage band for Great Comet. Lizzie pursued her higher education in Boston both at the New England Conservatory of Music and Boston University where she studied with Don Palma and Ed Barker respectively.

We talk about her path toward music school, how Don Palma inspired her to head down the path that she’s now on, advice for people looking to explore a career in chamber music, and much more. 

We chatted on February 25h for the podcast, and much has changed in the world in the intervening weeks, but I hope that you enjoy taking your mind off of these concerning times with this engaging and thoughtful conversation with Lizzie! 

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I’d also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you’d like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase: 

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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660: Maxime Bibeau on Gasparo de Salo basses

I had a wonderful time meeting and spending time with Australian Chamber Orchestra principal bassist Maxime Bibeau during my trip to Australia in late 2019.  Max has had a fascinating career path, and he plays with a power and subtlety that is truly remarkable.

We talk about his path from Quebec to Australia, what it’s like playing on a 1585 Gasparo Da Salo bass, the unique experience of playing in a group like the ACO, and much more.  

A big thanks to all the people who recommended that Max and I connect during my trip to Australia—what a great bassist and artist!

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 Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

Steve Swan String Bass

Steve Swan String Bass features the West Coast’s largest selection of double basses between Los Angeles and Canada.  Located in Burlingame, just south of San Francisco, their large retail showroom holds about 70 basses on display. Their new basses all feature professional setups and come with a cover at no additional cost. Used and consignment instruments receive any needed repairs and upgrades before getting a display position on the sales floor.

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.

The Bass Violin Shop

The Bass Violin Shop offers the Southeast’s largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

Modacity

Modacity is a practicing app that helps musicians be more effective at practice.  They help you get the results you want, while keeping you encouraged and motivated to stick with it and reach those goals – however big, or small, they may be.  

Kolstein Music

The Samuel Kolstein Violin Shop was founded by Samuel Kolstein in 1943 as a Violin and Bow making establishment in Brooklyn, New York. Now on Long Island, over 60 years later, Kolstein’s has built a proud reputation for quality, craftsmanship and expertise in both the manufacture and repair of a whole range of stringed instruments, and has expanded to a staff of twelve experts in restoration, marketing and production.

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.

nkoda

nkoda is a sheet music app for iOS, Android, and many platforms. It includes music from over 100 of the major music publishers like Boosey & Hawkes and Barenreiter. Practice, play and perform your sheet music, and mark up your parts as needed.  This subscription service has received praise from Sir Simon Rattle and Joyce DiDonato.  Start your free trial at nkoda.com.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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618: Departure Duo on 30 hours of new music

Departure Duo is an innovative collaboration between soprano Nina Guo and double bassist Edward Kass.  Eddie and Nina have dedicated themselves to performing, commissioning, and researching music for soprano and double bass, and the results have been fascinating.

We talk about their 30 by ’30 project (30 hours of soprano+bass music by 2030), how they became enthralled by this musical combination, their extensive database of soprano+bass music, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to follow Departure Duo on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook!

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 Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

Steve Swan String Bass

Steve Swan String Bass features the West Coast’s largest selection of double basses between Los Angeles and Canada.  Located in Burlingame, just south of San Francisco, their large retail showroom holds about 70 basses on display. Their new basses all feature professional setups and come with a cover at no additional cost. Used and consignment instruments receive any needed repairs and upgrades before getting a display position on the sales floor.

Modacity

Modacity is a practicing app that helps musicians be more effective at practice.  They help you get the results you want, while keeping you encouraged and motivated to stick with it and reach those goals – however big, or small, they may be.

Kolstein Music

The Samuel Kolstein Violin Shop was founded by Samuel Kolstein in 1943 as a Violin and Bow making establishment in Brooklyn, New York. Now on Long Island, over 60 years later, Kolstein’s has built a proud reputation for quality, craftsmanship and expertise in both the manufacture and repair of a whole range of stringed instruments, and has expanded to a staff of twelve experts in restoration, marketing and production.

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.

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.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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

584: Pablo Aslan on recording projects

Pablo Aslan recently released Contrabajo, Works for Bass and String Quartet.  This is Pablo’s first “bass up front” release, and it’s a musical tour-de-force.  Highly recommended listening!

We talk about the new album, Pablo’s musical explorations in the electronic music world, staying current with business trends in the music industry, progressing as an instrumentalist, and much more in this wide-ranging conversation.

Be sure to follow Pablo on Spotify and Facebook, and check out our previous interview from 2016 here!

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 Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

Kolstein Music

The Samuel Kolstein Violin Shop was founded by Samuel Kolstein in 1943 as a Violin and Bow making establishment in Brooklyn, New York. Now on Long Island, over 60 years later, Kolstein’s has built a proud reputation for quality, craftsmanship and expertise in both the manufacture and repair of a whole range of stringed instruments, and has expanded to a staff of twelve experts in restoration, marketing and production.

Steve Swan String Bass

Steve Swan String Bass features the West Coast’s largest selection of double basses between Los Angeles and Canada.  Located in Burlingame, just south of San Francisco, their large retail showroom holds about 70 basses on display. Their new basses all feature professional setups and come with a cover at no additional cost. Used and consignment instruments receive any needed repairs and upgrades before getting a display position on the sales floor.

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.

The Bass Violin Shop

The Bass Violin Shop offers the Southeast’s largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

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.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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