Micah Howard has been on my “to interview” list for years.  As a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony and faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, Micah has had a huge influence on countless bass players (including my good friend Christian Dillingham!).  I actually just found a note from 2008 that said “interview Micah Howard” – that’s how long I’ve been hoping to do this!

A few weeks ago, I wrote him an email asking to schedule an interview, only to find that he had emailed me that exact same day to ask if I’d be up for being a clinician at the next Pittsburgh Bass Symposium.  We must have been on the same wavelength that day without realizing it!

Micah and I dig into a ton of topics:

• Micah’s journey through the music world
• What he learned through his four Pittsburgh Symphony auditions
• The experience of serving on the PSO core audition committee
• Mindset shifts between preliminary rounds and later rounds
• What non-bassists hear when they listen to bassists
• Negotiating committees, lockouts, and other things you don’t think about when you’re in music school
• Advice for Micah’s younger self

This is a great conversation with a person who gives so much to the bass community, and I know you’ll love it!

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Robertson & Sons Violins

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Upton Bass String Instrument Company

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D’Addario Strings

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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
• Krista Kopper, cataloging and archiving