346: Jon McCullough-Benner – Milwaukee Symphony principal bass

Jon McCullough-Benner serves as principal bass of the Milwaukee Symphony, assistant principal bass of the Grant Park Symphony, and is on faculty at Roosevelt University.  Jon joins the Milwaukee Symphony after serving as principal bass with the Oregon Symphony.

We dig into:

  • studying with Owen Lee, Albert Laszlo, and Bruce Bransby
  • the dangers of getting too tied up in rhythm and pitch fundamentals
  • Jon’s “early bird gets the worm” philosophy
  • why practicing at quarter note = 60 works so well

…and much more!

Follow along with all of our audition-related content at contrabassconversations.com/auditioning

Links to check out:

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By Jason

An active double bass performer and teacher, Jason teaches double bass at DePaul University and served on the Board of Directors of the International Society of Bassists for many years. Jason is the current President of the Illinois chapter of the American String Teachers Association. Jason has been a member of the Elgin Symphony since 2000 and has played with the Midsummer’s Music Festival in Door County for the past decade. He is a past member of the Milwaukee Ballet and IRIS Orchestra, and has performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony, and numerous other professional ensembles.