Contrabass Conversations

“Professor Larry Hurst likes to say ‘orchestras are the largest employers of musicians in the world,’ As a result, auditions consume the lives of so many aspiring classical musicians. We have all obsessed over them to the point of auditions becoming mystical events with their own lore and urban legend. That somehow they are won with some kind of secret handshake, studying at the right school, playing like a machine, selling your soul to the devil, etc.

Jason Heath’s new book Winning The Audition goes a long way to demystifying this frequently misunderstood and intimidating process. His book is the most thorough and exhaustive book on orchestra auditions that I have come across for any instrument. Through his book and his podcast, Jason has created one of the most invaluable educational resources available for classical bassists.”

Owen Lee
Principal Bass, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati CCM
Principal Bass and Faculty, Chautauqua Institution

“Jason Heath has compiled relevant tidbits from interviews with top-notch players and major audition winners, interspersing them with his own approaches and experience. Part practical, part anecdotal, and part inspirational, this compilation is something that any musician on the audition trail can learn from.

What I particularly like about Jason’s approach is the idea that there is not “One Way To Do Things”; rather, he amalgamates multiple approaches with a wonderfully open mind.”

Lisa Chisholm
Preparation and Performance Coach
www.masterperforming.com

“Jason has done amazing work. What started as a double bass blog has grown into a treasure trove of ideas, techniques, high level concepts, and history of not just the double bass but music in general. In fact, the ideas he’s collected and assembled cross disciplines and transcend music. There are useful ideas in here for everyone. Thank you, Jason!”

Andrew Raciti
Northwestern University
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

“Jason has included an immense amount of value in this book about auditions. I can’t imagine a more detailed approach. In this book you have a wealth of information from not only Jason’s own experience as a successful musician and auditioner, but from all of the many renowned bass players he has interviewed on his podcast.

This is an insider’s look at how to nail an audition with a wealth of tools to use to perfect your audition approach. I would say that any musician, bass player or otherwise, will benefit greatly from reading this book and employing the techniques.”

Tracy Friedlander
Crushing Classical
Horn Wise

“Thank you Jason for putting this book together! Finally someone has compiled best practices in the realm of audition taking and Jason has gotten together some of the best minds in the music world. I’m sure anyone can gain insight into their own audition preparation from this book.”

Harish Kumar
Oulu Sinfonia, Helsinki

“I wish I had this text 25 years ago! Jason has gathered decades of bassists experience and distilled them into this impressive resource. The advice, tips and strategies are detailed and proven successful. Highly recommended!”

Peter Tambroni
mostlybass.com founder and music educator

“I love how all these wonderful resources are in one easy to read tool. Thank you, Jason, for continuing to harness the uniqueness of the double bass community!”

Dennis Bergevin
music educator, Grand Rapids