Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

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!

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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/

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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.

991: Szymon Marciniak and Evan Mitchell on their bass and piano partnership

This year’s San Francisco Winter Bass Bash recital guest was Szymon Marciniak, a fabulous bass soloist and educator who appeared on the podcast in 2016. Szymon performed an inspiring program with his longtime collaborator and pianist Evan Mitchell.  In this interview we discuss how Szymon and Evan have approached collaborating over the past decade.  Enjoy, and check out more footage from this event here!

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Connect with us:

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.

990: Nicole Melrose on double bass strings

Nicole Melrose is an orchestral string clinician for D’Addario and the founder of StringRise, which we covered with Nicole in a 2021 interview.

Today, we dig into the world of double bass strings, how they are made, what makes double bass strings unique, and the various strings offered by D’Addario.

D’Addario is a past sponsor of the podcast, and if you join their Players Circle with the code DCLINIC2023, you can get 50% off of up to five D’Addario products with free shipping.

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

Connect with us:

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.

989: Alexander Verster on composition and London freelance life

Alexander Verster is a composer and double bassist located in London.  He was born in South Africa, but soon ended up in New Zealand prior to his move to London.

We talk about his deep dive into the double bass, how composing fits into his life, and much more.  Enjoy and be sure to check out Alexander’s scores and recordings, and also give his YouTube Channel a follow!

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

Connect with us:

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.

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:

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.