Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

718: Brendan Fitzgerald on audition prep

Brendan Fitzgerald has come up with an audition preparation strategy that has upped his level of consistency.  Brendan joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2019 after spending two seasons with the Seattle Symphony, and he is set to do a trial with the Minnesota Orchestra.

We talk through his audition prep method extensively, and we also feature excerpts from Brendan that he recorded while preparing an audition tape.  Enjoy, and be sure to also check him out on this recent podcast by Ryan Beach.  

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Contrabass Conversations production team:

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717: Josh Skinner on the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival

We’re featuring Josh Skinner on today’s podcast.  Josh is a bassist, composer, and faculty member at the University of Idaho.  

Josh also directs the annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, which brings together thousands of jazz students from the United States and abroad.  I also had the pleasure of being a clinician at the 2020 festival and spending some time in person with Josh.

We talk about the festival, how Josh is handling the pandemic, his path through the music world, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to follow along with Josh on Instagram!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

716: Christian Dillingham on joining the Indiana University faculty

Today we’re featuring Christian Dillingham, a Grammy Award-winning bassist who happens to be one of my longtime friends.  Christian recently joined the faculty at Indiana University to teach jazz bass.  We chat about that and much more!

Check out my in-person conversation with Christian from the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention, and be sure to follow him on Instagram!

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Contrabass Conversations production team:

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715: Sam Morel on bass making

Today we’re featuring Sam Morel, a French double bass luthier who has recently taken a job at David Gage String Instruments.  Sam won a Silver Medal for Tone at the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention and a Certificate of Merit at the 2018 Violin Society of America Competition.

We talk about the various basses he has built, how life has been for him during the pandemic, working with Patrick Charton, and much more.

Enjoy, and be sure to follow Sam on Facebook and Instagram!

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Contrabass Conversations production team:

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714: Stephen P. Brown on flipping your approach

We’re chatting with conductor and career development coach Stephen P. Brown today.  Stephen appeared on the podcast in 2019, and we dig into developing your career during the pandemic, what holds so many musicians back, what life is looking like for Stephen at the present moment, and much more.

Follow along with Stephen on Facebook and Twitter, and be sure to check out his podcast Classic Jabber!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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