Joel Reist has been a member of the Nashville Symphony for nearly 20 years, and has served as principal bass since 2003. A former student of Anthony Bianco and Paul Ellison, Joel spent time in the New World Symphony prior to joining the Nashville Symphony. He also teaches bass at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University.
We dig deep into a number of topics:
- what Tony Bianco was like as a teacher and the rich influences from which he drew
- how Joel was introduced to Paul Ellison and the impact that it had on his playing
- one of the biggest pitfalls that bassists fall into during auditions
- the “rubber chicken” story (Nashville Symphony crazy gig story!)
- what getting a new hall does for an orchestra
- how to play quality pizzicati in the orchestra
…and much more! Joel is a great guy, and it was a blast sitting down with him to chat for the podcast!
Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:
The Samuel Kolstein Violin Shop was founded by Samuel Kolstein in 1943 as a Violin and Bow making establishment in Brooklyn, New York. Now on Long Island, over 60 years later, Kolstein’s has built a proud reputation for quality, craftsmanship and expertise in both the manufacture and repair of a whole range of stringed instruments, and has expanded to a staff of twelve experts in restoration, marketing and production.
For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.
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 Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.
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
- Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging
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