Podcast – Page 158

365: Curtis Burris on delightful stories from the orchestra trenches

Curtis Burris has taught bass for many years at the Chautauqua Institution. I was with Kate Jones and ran into Curtis as he was chatting with Virginia Dixon on the streets of Ithaca. Kate is a former student of Curtis, and she set up this interview for the following day.

As it turns out, Curtis and I have a strangely large amount in common. We both:

went to Northwestern
taught at DePaul
played the Lithuanian Opera in Chicago
subbed in the Lyric Opera and Grant Park Symphony
played in Milwaukee (he was in the symphony and I played in the ballet)

Curtis shares a ton of hilarious tales from the orchestra trenches and offers a wonderful perspective on teaching. This conversation was a ton of fun!

364: Gaelen McCormick on Young Bassists and Mastering the Bow

Gaelen McCormick was heading up the Young Bassists Program for the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention. Gaelen is a past guest on the podcast, and we were able to find a few minutes to chat about her role at the convention as well as her new book Mastering the Bow, Part 3: Studies for Bass.

Check out all three volumes from Gaelen below:

Check out Gaelen’s original podcast interview here.

363: David Neubert on teaching and ISB history

David Neubert was one of the early champions of the International Society of Bassists. He hosted conventions at UT-Austin (1986) and Interlochen (1993).

He was the Principal Bass of the Springfield Symphony (Massachusetts), the Wichita Symphony and recently retired from the Austin Symphony Orchestra. He was a double bass professor at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Wichita State University, and The University of Texas at Austin.

We talk about a wide range of topics, including:

David’s early years in Northern California
the accomplishments of former students of his
David’s cross-country career path
the Reinshagen (New Work) and Torello (Philadelphia) schools of playing
David Walter and his Melodious Bass book

362: David Gage talks shop

David Gage opened his shop in 1978 in New York City. He has played an integral role in the double bass world ever since. David has served on the International Society of Bassists board of directors in the past and provides a wide range of products and services for the double bassist.