A podcast listener recently suggested that I re-interview Colin Corner about how he has managed to win audition after audition. It turned out that I would be in Portland, Oregon for a couple weeks, and Colin and I sat down for a terrific deep-dive into auditioning, the role of a principal bassist, and much more.
Prior to his current positions of principal bass for the Oregon Symphony and Grant Park Symphony, Colin played principal bass for the Atlanta Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic. He also held positions in the Minnesota Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, and Louisiana Philharmonic.
I originally interviewed Colin back in 2007 when he was playing in the Minnesota Orchestra, and I caught up with him briefly in 2009 after he’d moved into his role as principal bass of the Rochester Philharmonic. It was such a pleasure to dig into Colin’s experiences over this past decade. There are a tremendous amount of valuable takeaways from this conversation!
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.
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.
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:
- Jason Heath, host
- Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
- Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
- Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!