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Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

CBC 108: Dan Krekeler interview part 2

Dan Krekeler.png We’re concluding our interview (check out part 1 here) with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra bassist Dan Krekeler this week on the podcast. John Grillo of classicalmusicnews.tv and I co-interviewed Dan, which was particularly cool since we’ve both known Dan for many years. I played with Dan in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and John went to Indiana University with him as an undergraduate. It’s great to see an old friend have such great professional success, and it was a lot of fun to catch up with Dan and hear about his experiences on the road to a major orchestral position.

In our conversations about audition prep, Dan brings up musician coach Don Greene, and I realized that we’ve never actually talked about Don before on any blog posts or podcasts. This is surprising, since I’m a big fan of Don’s concepts and strategies for successful auditioning, so we’ll have to delve more into that topic at a later date.

If you’re in the mood to learn about the world of opera bass playing, these episodes from our archives would be a good start:

  • Opera Excerpts Breakdown with John Grillo
  • Jeremy McCoy (asst. principal bass of the Met) interviews
  • Greg Sarchet (Lyric Opera of Chicago) interviews
  • Andy Anderson (Lyric Opera of Chicago) interviews
http://traffic.libsyn.com/contrabassconversations/CBC_108_-_Dan_Krekeler_interview_part_2.mp3

CBC 107: Michelle Fiore interview

Michelle Fiore.png

We’re featuring an interview with Michelle Fiore this week on Contrabass Conversations. Michelle is the proprietor of Classic Contrabass, a shop in Wheeling, Illinois catering exclusively to double bassists. I’ve known Michelle for many years–she was involved for many years with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Winter Bassfest that I started several years ago. She does great setup and repair work, and she has an excellent selection of double basses for sale as well as quality rental instruments for students.

Michelle had the opportunity to visit the Maggini exhibition in Italy a couple of years ago, an event which featured Dragonetti’s Gasparo da Salo bass from 1590 as well as several other Maggini double basses. She wrote an article about this exhibition last year for the International Society of Bassists‘ Bass World journal, and she discusses in detail some of her observations about these remarkable instruments in this interview. We also chat about instrument setup and how it differs for classical and jazz bassists, sound post adjustments, and many other topics.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/contrabassconversations/CBC_107_-_Michelle_Fiore_interview.mp3

CBC 106: Dan Krekeler interview

Dan Krekeler 1.jpg

We’re featuring an interview with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra bassist Dan Krekeler this week on the podcast. John Grillo of classicalmusicnews.tv and I co-interviewed Dan, which was particularly cool since we’ve both known Dan for many years. I played with Dan in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and John went to Indiana University with him as an undergraduate. It’s great to see an old friend have such great professional success, and it was a lot of fun to catch up with Dan and hear about his experiences on the road to a major orchestral position.

In our conversations about audition prep, Dan brings up musician coach Don Greene, and I realized that we’ve never actually talked about Don before on any blog posts or podcasts. This is surprising, since I’m a big fan of Don’s concepts and strategies for successful auditioning, so we’ll have to delve more into that topic at a later date.

If you’re in the mood to learn about the world of opera bass playing, these episodes from our archives would be a good start:

  • Opera Excerpts Breakdown with John Grillo
  • Jeremy McCoy (asst. principal bass of the Met) interviews
  • Greg Sarchet (Lyric Opera of Chicago) interviews
  • Andy Anderson (Lyric Opera of Chicago) interviews
http://traffic.libsyn.com/contrabassconversations/CBC_106_-_Dan_Krekeler_interview.mp3

CBC 104: Happy New Year with Guy Tuneh

Last year, Guy Tuneh provided the double bass community a video of his excellent Rococo Variations performance to celebrate the new year. This year we’re featuring this wonderful artist performing Kol Nidrei by Max Bruch. Enjoy!

CBC 102: Jeremy McCoy interview

Jeremy McCoy double bass.pngWe’re chatting with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Assistant Principal Bass Jeremy McCoy on this week’s Contrabass Conversations episode. Jeremy attended the Curtis Institute and was a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada prior to his appointment with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Jeremy and I discuss a wide variety of topics, including his early experiences on the instrument, life in the Met, thoughts on teaching, recording a solo album, and much more. We’ll conclude this two-part interview in the coming weeks. Enjoy!

link to Jeremy’s website

link to Jeremy’s Manhattan School of Music page

link to Jeremy’s album Dialogues with Double Bass

http://traffic.libsyn.com/contrabassconversations/CBC_102_-_Jeremy_McCoy_interview.mp3
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