232: Jory Herman on community engagement, balance, and resonant churches

San Diego Symphony bassist Jory Herman is today's guest!
San Diego Symphony bassist Jory Herman is today’s guest!

Today’s episode features Jory Herman, who is a member of the San Diego Symphony bass section and has just released his second solo album titled Life.  In addition to playing in the San Diego Symphony, Jory is actively involved in community engagement in the San Diego area.  He has recently become Director of Community Engagement with Art of Elan and is an active teacher and clinician.

We talk about his early years in music, studying bass with Paul Ellison at Rice University, and his time playing in the New World Symphony, where he got bitten by the community engagement bug.  We also discuss the recording of both his previous album of Bach Cello Suites and his most recent album, as well as what it’s like to continue to develop as a player and a person after landing an orchestra job.  Enjoy!

Links:

Interview Highlights

  • Early years
    • piano first instrument, started cello in 5th grade and switched to bass a few months later
    • First bass teachers were Becky Merritt and Dennis Whittaker, then Andy Moritz and Paul Ellison
    • studied with Paul Ellison at Rice – 5 year honors program – BM and MM
    • the student experience at Rice
  • Early professional experiences
    • New World Symphony
      • getting the “community engagement bug” while in this program
    • Spent a year playing in the National Symphony before joining San Diego Symphony in 2010
  • Continuing to set goals and develop as a musician “after the audition”
  • lessons learned from Paul Ellison
    • 1) Things you know
    • 2) Things you know you don’t know
    • 3) Things you don’t know you don’t know.
  • finding inspiration in the dynamically changing double bass community
  • continuing to develop as a person
  • feeding your soul as well as the technical aspects of your playing
  • Jory’s educational and community engagement work
    • Art of Elan – Jory has just been named the Director of Community Engagement
    • San Diego Youth Symphony
    • Jory’s Book of Warm-Ups
    • learning to to present what you do – lessons from the world of science
  • Bach album and Life album
    • recording venues
    • Brahms arrangement
  • Work-Life Balance

Listener Feedback links:

By Jason

An active double bass performer and teacher, Jason teaches double bass at DePaul University and served on the Board of Directors of the International Society of Bassists for many years. Jason is the current President of the Illinois chapter of the American String Teachers Association. Jason has been a member of the Elgin Symphony since 2000 and has played with the Midsummer’s Music Festival in Door County for the past decade. He is a past member of the Milwaukee Ballet and IRIS Orchestra, and has performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony, and numerous other professional ensembles.