Sometimes I get a guest recommendation repeatedly, which is a sure sign that I need to sit down with them and do an interview.
This is completely the case with Tracy Rowell.
Tracy is an active performer and teacher in the Cleveland area. Formerly the Assistant Principal Bassist of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, Tracy currently serves as Principal Bass for CityMusic Cleveland.
She has also performed with orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, and Carmel Bach Festival.
We dig into all sorts of topics, like:
- studying with Paul Ellison and Ed Barker
- playing in the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, CA
- moving to Ohio
- attending George Vance’s summer bass workshop
- starting to teach the double bass to 5-year-olds
- the brilliance of the Suzuki “Mother Tongue” concept
- how focusing on sound above all else is critical for teaching beginners
- learning how 90% of playing the cello happens pre-Twinkle
…and much more!
Here’s a video of Tracy performing Reitba by François Rabbath at the Rochester Bass Retreat:
This was a fun conversation for me–Tracy is doing great things for the bass!
Links to check out:
- Tracy’s Oberlin page
- Playing the String Game by Phyllis Young (a book Jason mentions)
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