Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

271: George Amorim on building a double bass empire

George Amorim double bass

What happens if you get hired to teach double bass… and there are zero students?

That’s what George Amorim faced when he joined the faculty of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Where do you even begin?

But George wasn’t deterred.  First, he visited high schools in the area.  Lots of bass players, but lots of work to be done.

More high school visits from George.  People took notice.  Slowly, things began to grow.

Then George started ¡Viva el Bajo!  The response was immediate, and it grew bigger over time.  Students got better.  Word began to spread.

Fast-forward to the present.

George has created a double bass powerhouse in South Texas.  His bass quartet featuring himself and his students Andres Vela, Daniel Morehead, and Gabriel Preusse played a stellar recital.

Piece #1 on the program: an arrangement of Peter and the Wolf by UTRGV faculty member Justin Writer.  Justin also narrated!

Piece #2 on the program: an original composition by Gabriel Preusse called Afro Sambas.

By the way, Gabriel’s quartet is published and available! Contact him to learn more.

How did George enact this long-term plan to transform a double bass vacuum into one of the most vibrant bass scenes in the country?  What can others do to build their own double bass scene, no matter where they live?

That’s what we dig into in this interview.

Learn more about my coverage of music teaching at contrabassconversations.com/teaching.

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!

270: Alexandre Ritter on method books, new works, and Brazilian double bass

Alexandre Ritter

Alexandre Ritter has become a champion of Armando Trovajoli’s work Sconcerto.

Once you hear this amazing piece, you’ll understand why.

Written for Franco Petracchi, this work has been largely unplayed until Alex got his hands on it.

The process was complex, but Alex worked it out to record the entire piece and publish it on YouTube.  This piece is destined to become one of the major concert works for orchestra.  It’s jazzy, colorful, mysterious, and magical.

But that’s not all Alex is doing these days.

We dig deep into Bille, how Alex uses it in his teaching, and we get into the debate of using the 3rd finger in the lower positions like what’s printed in Bille—Alex makes a compelling case for it.

While we were talking, he actually grabbed the bass and played through several examples for me!

Alex and I also talk about the experience of leaving Brazil to study in Georgia, how philosophy has influenced his thinking, job prospects in Brazil, and much more!

Learn more about my coverage of music teaching at contrabassconversations.com/teaching.

Links to check out:

Be sure to subscribe to Contrabass Conversations to get these episodes delivered automatically to your mobile device!

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!

269: Dennis Bergevin on public school teaching, professional development, and advising

Dennis Bergevin

Dennis Bergevin and I have a lot in common.

He’s a bass player.  Me too.

He taught public school orchestra.  So did I.

His career has taken an unexpected turn.

I totally identify with that.

For Dennis, it was the interactions with the students that he found most valuable.  Not that the music wasn’t important, but helping young people to find their path in life was what really mattered to him.

I agree 100%.

By the way, Dennis is a rockin’ bass player. Check out this video of him playing Bach.

So Dennis has transitioned out of that orchestra director role and is now training to work in guidance at the college level.

It’s amazing the opportunities that exist at the university level outside of being a professor, and how critical the people in roles like what Dennis is doing are to shaping the direction of student’s lives.

I also like this photo of Dennis and Edgar Meyer!

Learn more about my coverage of music teaching at contrabassconversations.com/teaching.

Other episodes where we talk about teaching orchestra:

Be sure to subscribe to Contrabass Conversations to get these episodes delivered automatically to your mobile device!

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!

268: Cornelia Watkins on private lesson teaching and Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance

Corky Watkins Rice University Rosindust

I first learned about Cornelia (Corky) Watkins through my friend Jeremy Little.  Jeremy and I used to teach together in Illinois.  He is a proponent of a style of music teaching called Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP).

Teaching music through this model is interesting.  CMP teaches the complete musician.  The intent is to provide music students with deeper understanding and more meaningful experiences with the music they play.

I went to a workshop on CMP.  It was cool.  I learned a lot.  Here’s a YouTube video with my friend Jeremy that gives a brief CMP overview.

But most of what we talked about revolved around teaching in a classroom.  Could this be applied to a private lesson setting?  How would that work?

That’s when Jeremy told me to get in touch with Corky.

Corky is a pro at this.  She served as the national chairperson of American String Teacher Association’s Committee on Studio Instruction, and also served for six years as the Private Teacher Representative on the board of TexASTA.

So I emailed her.  We set up a time to talk.  I read her book Rosindust.  It was great!

Here’s the thing that I was interested in…

Most of the young people that I teach don’t want a career in music.  That’s a good thing!  I want people to have amazing experiences with music while they’re young and continue to have it be a meaningful part of their life when they’re older.

The point isn’t to create a bunch of performance majors.  The point is to bring the gift of music into these young people’s lives.

Are we doing these young people a disservice by focusing only on technique and the music on the stand?  How do we teach beyond that without turning the private lesson into a music appreciation class?

That’s what Corky and I dig into!

Learn more about teaching at contrabassconversations.com/teaching.

Links to check out:

Be sure to subscribe to Contrabass Conversations to get these episodes delivered automatically to your mobile device!

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!