Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

1026: The Only Girl in the Orchestra

In this episode, we delve into The Only Girl in the Orchestra, a new documentary directed by Molly O’Brien about the life and career of trailblazer Orin O’Brien, the first female musician in the New York Philharmonic. Despite the spotlight her unique position brought, Orin always preferred playing a supporting role to her family, students, friends, and colleagues.

Jason and Molly are joined by editor Monique Zavistovski to discuss this remarkable profile of one of the double bassist’s major figures. Watch the documentary on Netflix.

Learn more about this documentary on their website, and learn more about Molly, Monique, and all of the other collaborators here.

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Thank you to our sponsor, Dorico

This podcast episode is sponsored by Dorico, the next-generation music notation software from Steinberg that’s packed with smart, time-saving features to help you spend less time in front of your computer and more time doing what you love: making music.

The latest version of Dorico 5 includes Iconica Sketch, a new orchestral sound library, bringing more expressive playback and making it easy to produce more life-like performances with a dynamic stereo soundstage. Try Dorico Now For 60 Days For Free: visit dorico.com.

861: Orin O’Brien – from the archives

Orin O’Brien has retired from playing after an unparalleled 65-year career combined in the NY Philharmonic and the NYC Ballet.  To celebrate her remarkable career, we’re re-releasing this epic two-hour conversation with Orin from 2017.

Enjoy, and check out the original show notes for links to the many topics we dig into!

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Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

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.

Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – CMU is dedicated to helping each student achieve their goals as a musician. 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.

Ear Trumpet Labs – They make hand-built mics out of Portland, OR and they have an excellent mic for upright bass called Nadine. The Nadine is a condenser mic with a clear natural sound and incredible feedback rejection. This mic is a completely new design — the head mounts in between the strings above the tailpiece with a rubber grommet, and the body securely straps to the tailpiece with velcro elastic. A 14-inch Mogami cable connects the two parts making it easy to place on any bass. It’s durable and holds up to the demanding needs of the instrument while offering excellent sound quality. Ear Trumpet Labs is offering a free t-shirt just for Contrabass listeners with the purchase of a mic, just visit EarTrumpetLabs.com/contrabass to claim yours and check out the Nadine!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

678: Inside America’s Major Orchestras

Today’s episode features the following past podcast guests on the topic of what it’s like playing in major American orchestras:

Listen to more “best of” episodes at contrabassconversations.com/highlights.

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Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

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.

Steve Swan String Bass

Steve Swan String Bass features the West Coast’s largest selection of double basses between Los Angeles and Canada.  Located in Burlingame, just south of San Francisco, their large retail showroom holds about 70 basses on display. Their new basses all feature professional setups and come with a cover at no additional cost. Used and consignment instruments receive any needed repairs and upgrades before getting a display position on the sales floor.

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.

The Bass Violin Shop

The Bass Violin Shop offers the Southeast’s largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

Modacity

Modacity is a practicing app that helps musicians be more effective at practice.  They help you get the results you want, while keeping you encouraged and motivated to stick with it and reach those goals – however big, or small, they may be.  

Kolstein Music

The Samuel Kolstein Violin Shop was founded by Samuel Kolstein in 1943 as a Violin and Bow making establishment in Brooklyn, New York. Now on Long Island, over 60 years later, Kolstein’s has built a proud reputation for quality, craftsmanship and expertise in both the manufacture and repair of a whole range of stringed instruments, and has expanded to a staff of twelve experts in restoration, marketing and production.

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:

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396: Orin O’Brien on Leonard Bernstein, Fred Zimmerman, and life in the New York Philharmonic

Orin O’Brien
credit: Henry Grossman

It is an honor and a pleasure to welcome Orin O’Brien to the show!  I’ve been hoping to have Orin as a guest for years, and I want to give a big shout-out to Chris Mathers for connecting the two of us!

We chat about numerous shared acquaintances, including Greg Sarchet, Miloslov Gajdos, David Grossman, Ira Gold, Ed Barker, Hal Robinson, Max Dimoff, Michael Hovnanian, Douglas Mapp, and Ron Wasserman.

More About Orin

New York Philharmonic bassist Orin O’Brien was born in Hollywood to parents in the film industry, George O’Brien and Marguerite Churchill, and received her early musical training in Los Angeles, where she studied with Milton Kestenbaum and Herman Reinshagen. She then studied in New York with Frederick Zimmermann and graduated from The Juilliard School, and is an alumna of the Music Academy of the West, now a partner in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy.

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