Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

290: Audition Winner Caleb Quillen

I love talking with audiiton winners.

Learning about how they designed and implemented a long-term plan is fascinating.  What went right?  What went wrong?  How did they adjust course?  What did they do to get through the low points?  When did things start to click?

That’s what Caleb Quillen and I dig into on this episode.

Caleb is the most recent addition to the bass section of the Kansas City Symphony.  He studied at New England Conservatory and Rice University prior to winning the Kansas City job.

We talk about:

  • Caleb’s long-term audiiton plan
  • getting out of the “bass culture” when playing excerpts
  • concept of cognitive shifting and mental replacement
  • how running helped Caleb with auditioning
  • managing frustration and discouragement in audiiton preparation

It was such fun connecting with Caleb and talking auditioning with him!

He and I had actually met years ago at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago when his high school orchestra performed there.  Caleb was principal bassist of his orchestra and had a solo in a piece, and I went up to the stage and congratulated him after the performance.  Small world!

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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.

Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Hosting for Contrabass Conversations is provided by Bass Capos.  Bass Capos are an excellent choice for any bass player using or looking to implement a double bass extension. Easy to install and adjust, cheaper and more reliable than hand-built latches, also lighter and quicker in operation.

 

289: Chris Hanulik on auditioning, expressiveness, and life in the LA Phil

Chris Hanulik hit the ground running career-wise, landing a position in the Los Angeles Philharmonic after graduating from Juilliard.

“Leaving New York to had out to Southern California… what was that transition like?” I asked.

“I did not have too much trouble adjusting!” Chris said jovially.

Chris and I dig into all kinds of topics like:

  • studying at Juilliard with Homer Mensch
  • the year he spent as principal bassist of the Cleveland Orchestra
  • his favorite studies for the bass
  • how he sees his role as principal bassist of LA Phil
  • audition preparation advice

It was a blast to get to sit down with Chris in person for this interview.  I totally love talking in person and do so whenever possible, so it was super-cool to get together with Chris a few weeks back in LA!

Links to Check Out:

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to your inbox!

Learn how you can support the show at contrabassconversations.com/support

Thanks to our sponsors!

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.

Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Hosting for Contrabass Conversations is provided by Bass Capos.  Bass Capos are an excellent choice for any bass player using or looking to implement a double bass extension. Easy to install and adjust, cheaper and more reliable than hand-built latches, also lighter and quicker in operation.

279: Round Two with David Allen Moore

david-allen-moore-web

When I got the podcast going again in 2015, I knew that I wanted to do “round two” interviews with past guests. Los Angeles Philharmonic bassist and USC Thornton School of Music professor David Allen Moore was at the top of my list.

I had David on the show back in 2009, which has been one of the most popular interviews from the first-generation podcast episodes (nearly 14,000 downloads at the moment).

A lot has changed for David since we last spoke:

  • He took a sabbatical and, after analyzing Edgar Meyer’s technique, developed the concept of fractal fingerings.
  • He wrote a book on Fractal Fingerings.
  • He became an ultra-marathon runner.

Several of my former students have studied with David over the years.  When I asked them who had the biggest impact on them as a musician and as a person, David was the first person they mentioned.

I headed down to Los Angeles and we met up at his USC studio. Here’s a shot of us along with bassists Fernando de la Fuente and Dan Carson (another former student of mine!).

Fernando de la Fuente, David Allen Moore, Dan Carson, and Jason!

Fernando de la Fuente, David Allen Moore, Dan Carson, and Jason!

We dig into all kinds of topics, including:

  • building an internal map
  • how bass pedagogy is still catching up to reality
  • analyzing Edgar Meyer’s bass playing
  • the concept of framing
  • Rabbath’s approach and the German bow
  • how practicing is a creative process
  • how running changed David’s approach to various aspects of life
  • fractal fingering
  • peak performance
  • raising your floor as well as your ceiling
  • reveling in your successes

…and much more!

Links to check out:

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to your inbox!

Learn how you can support the show at contrabassconversations.com/support

Thanks to our sponsor!

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.

Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

275: get your copy of Winning the Audition now!

winning-the-audition-web

I’m so thrilled to announce that Winning the Audition is now available! You can get it in paperback, ebook, and Kindle formats, and links to all of this are available at winningtheaudition.net.  More formats (including audiobook) coming soon!

Today’s episode covers:

Get your copy today!

What people are saying about Winning the Audition:

“Professor Larry Hurst likes to say ‘orchestras are the largest employers of musicians in the world,’ As a result, auditions consume the lives of so many aspiring classical musicians. We have all obsessed over them to the point of auditions becoming mystical events with their own lore and urban legend. That somehow they are won with some kind of secret handshake, studying at the right school, playing like a machine, selling your soul to the devil, etc.

Jason Heath’s new book Winning The Audition goes a long way to demystifying this frequently misunderstood and intimidating process. His book is the most thorough and exhaustive book on orchestra auditions that I have come across for any instrument. Through his book and his podcast, Jason has created one of the most invaluable educational resources available for classical bassists.”

Owen Lee
Principal Bass, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati CCM
Principal Bass and Faculty, Chautauqua Institution

“Jason Heath has compiled relevant tidbits from interviews with top-notch players and major audition winners, interspersing them with his own approaches and experience. Part practical, part anecdotal, and part inspirational, this compilation is something that any musician on the audition trail can learn from.

What I particularly like about Jason’s approach is the idea that there is not “One Way To Do Things”; rather, he amalgamates multiple approaches with a wonderfully open mind.”

Lisa Chisholm
Preparation and Performance Coach
www.masterperforming.com

“Jason has done amazing work. What started as a double bass blog has grown into a treasure trove of ideas, techniques, high level concepts, and history of not just the double bass but music in general. In fact, the ideas he’s collected and assembled cross disciplines and transcend music. There are useful ideas in here for everyone. Thank you, Jason!”

Andrew Raciti
Northwestern University
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

“Jason has included an immense amount of value in this book about auditions. I can’t imagine a more detailed approach. In this book you have a wealth of information from not only Jason’s own experience as a successful musician and auditioner, but from all of the many renowned bass players he has interviewed on his podcast.

This is an insider’s look at how to nail an audition with a wealth of tools to use to perfect your audition approach. I would say that any musician, bass player or otherwise, will benefit greatly from reading this book and employing the techniques.”

Tracy Friedlander
Crushing Classical
Horn Wise

“Jason has put together an essential resource for any musician wanting to gain the edge and to win their audition!”Geoff Chalmers
DiscoverDoubleBass.com Founder

“Thank you Jason for putting this book together! Finally someone has compiled best practices in the realm of audition taking and Jason has gotten together some of the best minds in the music world. I’m sure anyone can gain insight into their own audition preparation from this book.”

Harish Kumar
Oulu Sinfonia, Helsinki

“I wish I had this text 25 years ago! Jason has gathered decades of bassists experience and distilled them into this impressive resource. The advice, tips and strategies are detailed and proven successful. Highly recommended!”

Peter Tambroni
mostlybass.com founder and music educator

“I love how all these wonderful resources are in one easy to read tool. Thank you, Jason, for continuing to harness the uniqueness of the double bass community!”

Dennis Bergevin
music educator, Grand Rapids

Get your copy today!

Thanks to our sponsor!

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.

Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

261: rob knopper is the auditionhacker

Rob Knopper

it would be sacrilege to use capital letters when writing about auditionhacker founder rob knopper.

rob plays percussion in the metropolitan opera orchestra. which is quite cool.

but rob also started auditionhacker, a site devoted to mastering the systems and processes required to win an audition.

we talk about:

this was a great conversation!  you’ll walk away loaded with new strategies for your next audition!

Subscribe to the podcast and get these interviews delivered to your mobile device!

From listener feedback:

10 Preparation Strategies I’ve Learned from Audition Winners (My AuditionCafe.org post)

Thanks to our sponsor!

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.

Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!