I met Henry in Chicago. While in Chicago, Henry spent his time studying with Rob Kassinger and playing principal bass with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Fast-forward ten years, and Henry is now teaching at  Soochow University School of Music in Jiangsu, China.  We talk about Henry’s journey from Chicago to China and the steps in between, what it’s like teaching and performing in China, opportunities for bass players looking for an orchestra job, Henry’s teaching style, and much more!

Henry Chen and I go way back.  In fact, I remember meeting Henry at DePaul University over a decade ago!

At that point,  he had not had much orchestral experience, but he was a fabulous solo player who won the concerto competition with the Bottesini Concerto.

Chicago was Henry’s choice because of the orchestral training he knew he’d receive there.  He spent his time studying with Chicago Symphony bassist Rob Kassinger and playing principal bass with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Fast-forward ten years, and Henry is now teaching at  Soochow University School of Music in Jiangsu, China.  We talk about Henry’s journey from Chicago to China and the steps in between, what it’s like teaching and performing in China, opportunities for bass players looking for an orchestra job, Henry’s teaching style, and much more!

Links to check out:

• Henry’s website
• Bottesini Concerto PDF and MP3 files (Cliff Colnot arrangement)
• Franck Sonata with Henry (mvt 1)
• Franck Sonata with Henry (mvt 4)

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.

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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