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Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

1018: Drew Banzhaf on his audition path to the Malmo Symphony

Drew Banzhaf won the audition for Associate Principal Bass Malmö Symphony in 2023. He spent three years as a guest musician of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and has regularly appeared with renowned orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra. Drew was also a New World Symphony Fellow for three seasons and is a graduate of Indiana University and Rice University.

We dig into Drew’s background, his decade spent taking 36 professional auditions, lessons learned along the journey, and much more. Enjoy!

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Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – The School of Music at CMU highly values each and every individual who wants to be a part of an innovative fine arts community immersed in a top research university. 

Every week each student receives private lessons and participates in a solo class with Micah Howard. Peter Guild, another member of the PSO, teaches Orchestral Literature and Repertoire weekly. They encourage students to reach out to the great bassists in their area for lessons and direction. Many of the bassists from all of the city’s ensembles are more than willing to lend a hand. Every year members of the Symphony, the Opera and the Ballet give classes and offer our students individual attention. Click here to visit Micah’s website and to sign up for a free online trial lesson.

  • theme music by Eric Hochberg
https://traffic.libsyn.com/contrabassconversations/Drew_Banzhaf_mixdown.mp3

1012: Phoebe Russell on Smash Your Audition

Phoebe Russell is Principal Bass for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.  She recently released a course on Discover Double Bass titled Smash Your Audition.  

We released a YouTube video digging into this course, and in this podcast we cover Phoebe’s tips for preparing orchestral excerpts, what it was like to put all of her knowledge into a video course, general life updates, and more.

Check out Phoebe’s 2019 podcast appearance here, and be sure to check out her awesome course here!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

  • all things double bass
  • double bass merch
  • double bass sheet music

Thank you to our sponsors!

Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – The School of Music at CMU highly values each and every individual who wants to be a part of an innovative fine arts community immersed in a top research university. 

Every week each student receives private lessons and participates in a solo class with Micah Howard. Peter Guild, another member of the PSO, teaches Orchestral Literature and Repertoire weekly. They encourage students to reach out to the great bassists in their area for lessons and direction. Many of the bassists from all of the city’s ensembles are more than willing to lend a hand. Every year members of the Symphony, the Opera and the Ballet give classes and offer our students individual attention. Click here to visit Micah’s website and to sign up for a free online trial lesson.

  • theme music by Eric Hochberg
https://traffic.libsyn.com/contrabassconversations/Phoebe_round_2_mixdown.mp3

1011: Bobby Scharmann on winning an orchestra audition

Bobby Scharmann is Associate Principal Bass with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra and has been documenting his audition journey and what he has learned through the 24 professional orchestra auditions he took.

We last had Bobby on the podcast in 2020, and it was great to catch up with him and dig into his preparation process and what it was like landing his full-time orchestral position.  Enjoy, and be sure to check out Bobby’s website, Instagram, and YouTube Channel!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

  • all things double bass
  • double bass merch
  • double bass sheet music

Thank you to our sponsors!

Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – The School of Music at CMU highly values each and every individual who wants to be a part of an innovative fine arts community immersed in a top research university. 

Every week each student receives private lessons and participates in a solo class with Micah Howard. Peter Guild, another member of the PSO, teaches Orchestral Literature and Repertoire weekly. They encourage students to reach out to the great bassists in their area for lessons and direction. Many of the bassists from all of the city’s ensembles are more than willing to lend a hand. Every year members of the Symphony, the Opera and the Ballet give classes and offer our students individual attention. Click here to visit Micah’s website and to sign up for a free online trial lesson.

  • theme music by Eric Hochberg
https://traffic.libsyn.com/contrabassconversations/Bobby_Scharmann.mp3

992: Sean O’Hara on long-term progress

Sean O’Hara recently won an audition for a double bass section position in the Fort Worth Symphony.  In this episode, we talk about Sean’s journey from the San Francisco Bay area to UCLA to study with Chris Hanulik, his time working with Brian Johnson at Cal State Fullerton, his with studying with Tim Pitts at Rice University, lessons learned after 33 auditions, getting into traditional Irish, music, and much more.  Enjoy!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Thank you to our sponsor, Dorico! It is my favorite software for music notation and composition. Designed for MacOS, iPad, and Windows, Dorico’s workflow allows you to spend more time making music. Download Dorico 5, their free iPad app, or their free version (forever), Dorico SE 5. 

Get Dorico: https://www.steinberg.net/dorico/

Connect with us:

  • all things double bass
  • double bass merch
  • double bass sheet music

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner’s Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

  • theme music by Eric Hochberg
https://traffic.libsyn.com/contrabassconversations/Sean_OHara_mixdown.mp3

988: Kaelan Decman on his audition path and process

Kaelan Decman joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Associate Principal Bass in the spring of 2022.  Before his appointment, he was a member of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra bass section.  He graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.

We talk about his audition journey and much more in this wide-ranging conversation.  Enjoy!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

  • all things double bass
  • double bass merch
  • double bass sheet music

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner’s Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

  • theme music by Eric Hochberg
https://traffic.libsyn.com/contrabassconversations/Kaelan_Decman_mixdown.mp3
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