I had the good fortune to meet Yung-chiao Wei back in 2000 at the Pacific Music Festival in Japan.  She was wrapping up her time with the New World Symphony and was just about to start new new position at Louisiana State University.

The rich double bass culture she has created the past decade-and-a-half is remarkable.

In addition to creating the Louisiana Bass Fest, Yung-chio has propelled her students into all sorts of “next steps” like:

• winning auditions such as tenured Principal Bassist and Assistant Principal Bassist in the Baton Rouge Symphony and the Acadiana Symphony
• Assistant Principal Bassist of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra
• going to prestigious music schools with full scholarships at the Juilliard School, Yale University, Eastman School of Music and Cincinnati Conservatory
• teaching at at the Cincinnati Conservatory and Southeastern Louisiana University
• founding the Brava Orchestra, an youth orchestra in Brazil, with a mission to bring music to the poor
• becoming the Executive Director at New York Baroque Incorporated

Talk about having an impact on future generations of musicians!

Yung-chiao and I dig into all kinds of topics, like:

• how playing Brahms makes her feel alive
• the Tai-chi horse stance and how it applies to bass playing
• overcoming some of her physical limitations
• over-practicing and how to avoid it
• her solo recordings
• the value of creating a bass festival

…and much more!

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