Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

499: Marek Romanowski

Marek Romanowski and I were housemates during the Bradetich Competition back in the fall of 2017.  He and I spent some great nights with our hosts chatting about bass, music, Texas, Poland, and all sorts of other topics.

Ever since the competition, I have become such a fan of his playing.  Marek won the Sperger Competition in 2016 and was one of the finalists for the Bradetich Competition in 2017.  We also put out an interview and performance excerpt video on YouTube as well as a podcast episode titled Four Bassists that will Change the World.

We talk about nerves, how to set yourself up for success in a competition, how competitions relate to auditions, what Marek does the day of a big event, his position with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and much more!

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Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Robertson & Sons Violins

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.

D’Addario Strings

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.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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492: Joseph McFadden on being true to yourself

Joseph McFadden has led a remarkable career in the music world.  Joe’s journey from Southern California to his current role as principal bass of the Atlanta Symphony is full of valuable life lessons.  We dig into a ton of great topics like bing true to yourself as an artist, what taking a chance really means in an audition setting, dealing with frustration and discouragement, organizing your time to move forward with your career goals, and much more.

Joe is a great guy and one heck of a bass player, and it was such a pleasure to have him on the podcast for this episode!

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Robertson & Sons Violins

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.

D’Addario Strings

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.

A440 Violin Shop

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:

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

474: Dan Carson on auditioning and taking a leap

Dan Carson is the latest member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s bass section.  I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dan for over a decade.  He grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and worked with Andy Anderson and a few other teachers (including me!) during high school.

Dan attended Indiana University and won principal bass of the Alabama Symphony during his junior year. After a few years, he decided to return to Indiana University to finish his undergraduate degree.

He opted to not return to the Alabama Symphony and headed to the University of Southern California to study with David Allen Moore.  Five months into his studies at USC, Dan won a position with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

We cover a lot of fascinating ground, including:

  • making progress in school versus out of school
  • his decision to quit the Alabama Symphony to continue his studies
  • what it was like being back in school after several years playing professionally
  • what he learned working with Paul Ellison, Andy Raciti, and David Allen Moore
  • Dan’s audition preparation routine for Lyric
  • getting through moments of discouragement

…and much more!

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

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.

D’Addario Strings

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.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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

459: Music School Auditions – Advice from the pros

This episode is one of those astoundingly complex projects that I love digging into! 

We’re featuring questions from double bass student Baylee Brown, which are answered by 27 noted double bass faculty members.  This idea was suggested by University of Texas at Arlington bass faculty member Jack Unzicker, who help design and execute this project.

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