Contrabass Conversations

Nicky Schwartz just released Stolen Pearls with his wife Anna Fedorova, including the most epic double bass album trailer ever.  Nicky and Anna call themselves the Oyster Duo, and in this album they …

Nina DeCesare recently joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2020 after spending several seasons playing with the Oregon Symphony.  She studied at Rice University with Paul Ellison and leads an …

Jonathan Borden is a double bassist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and a graduate of Juilliard.  He has recently launched an awesome YouTube Channel and is filming detailed tutorials about a…

Tony Alcock is Double Bass Section Leader for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.  He has previously been Principal double bass of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and section leader…

Isaac Trapkus joined the New York Philharmonic in November 2016. Before joining the Philharmonic he was a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and, before that, principal double bass of the New H…

Marc Gelfo is the founder of Modacity, which has transformed my practice habits during the three years that I’ve been using it.

We dig into what Marc has been up to since our last podcast chat, the …

Erica Bramham just released Enamel, her third album, and her first self-recorded release. We talk about how the pandemic inspired these compositions, what it was like shooting the music videos for th…

Mary Rannie is the principal double bass of the Victoria Symphony in British Columbia, Canada, the double bassist in the Galiano Ensemble, and former bass instructor at the University of Victoria.  S…

Michael Fuller is currently a Resident Bass Fellow at the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  Prior to that, he spent three seasons with the New World Symphony.

We talk about Michael’s background, growing up …

Daniel Chiva Sanz recently recorded his own orchestration of the Second Double Bass Concerto Op. 25 by Findeisen.  We dig into how this work was lost in a fire, leaving only the nearly impossible to …

Peter Rofé has been a bassist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1986. He began his orchestral career as the principal bassist with the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera and held those …

Kenneth Knudson recently released an album titled Uummat which was inspired by working on the Western Greenland island of Uummannaq.

Knudsen was exposed to the vast, calm and awe-inspiring natural su…

Evangeline Tang, Phoebe Clarke and Yijia Cui started the Bassists with Boobs Instagram account in July 2020 to improve the online representation of bass players and create a positive and empowering c…

Roberto Cassani has just released an intriguing new album titled Ansema We Stand.  This album is a mix of world and folk music, blending the cultures of Scotland and rural northern Italy, Roberto’s t…

Mark Helias is a renowned bassist, composer, and producer who has performed throughout the world for more than four decades with some of the most important and innovative musicians in Jazz and Improv…

Petru Iuga currently holds a professorship at the University of Music and Arts in Mannheim, Germany and Haute École de Musique de Lausanne.  Having received his first training in his native Romania, …

Bernardo Alviz was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia.  He started his music studies at the age of 17 and holds a Bachelor's degree from the Universidad Javeriana in Bogota as well as a Bachelor's a…

Shawn Conley leads an inspiring life playing all kinds of music.  He has been playing with the Silkroad Ensemble for six years and is a member of the Brooklyn-based chamber orchestra The Knights.

We…

Travis Gore has held a position with the Seattle Symphony and currently maintains a private studio of students in South Seattle. He remains an active studio musician and can be heard on major film an…

Learn about the latest Young Bassist program offerings for the 2021 International Society of Bassists Convention in this special episode!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to…