Ken Harper, assistant principal bass with the Colorado Symphony, died at home on February 21, 2009 after a courageous battle with melanoma. He was 45. He earned his master's degree degree from Rice University, and played with the Houston Ballet Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony, Houston Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, Tanglewood Festival Orchestra and Solti Carnegie Hall Project before joining the Colorado Symphony in 1994. He was also a member of the tango band Extasis, and performed regularly with the Colorado Chamber Players and the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra. He is survived by his wife, Amy Harr, and son Bennett. "Sure, we're all unique - and then there was Ken," remembers his teacher and friend Paul Ellison. "Each time we'd not seen each other for a while, seeing him at actual size (average) was a surprise. For me, Ken was always larger than life - his presence, voice, humor, quest for truth, fairness and capacity to be 'in the moment.' Only one student has ever hollered at me during a lesson. Ken had accepted and nearly perfected a concept put forth the previous week, then at our next lesson I somewhat altered that concept. We discussed and resolved the conflict, the hollering subsided, and we went back to work - he, as diligently as before. That passion exemplified his way of being. If Ken was doing it, he was passionate about it. How wonderful! Being recently in touch with so many of Ken's classmates, Tanglewood colleagues, friends and just about anyone he'd interfaced with, the reactions have been the same. First, we attempt to deal with our sadness and loss. Then the stories start. There are way to many of them to tell, all wonderfully funny and many quite poignant. Owen Lee, Cincinnati Symphony principal bass, told me that Ken kept him non-stop in stitches for two summers at Tanglewood, and was also one of the most lyrical players he had ever heard. Ken's complex richness as a human being, as well as his love, will forever be part of the gifts received by those of us lucky enough to have been some part of his life." Contributions can be made in Ken's memory to the Kenneth Harper Scholarship at the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, MS 532, PO Box 1892, Houston,TX 77251; the Melanoma Research Foundation at www.melanoma.org, or 170 Township Line Road, Building B, Hillsborough, NJ 08844; or the Colorado Symphony Association, 1000 14th Street, Suite 15, Denver, CO 80202.
 
The Stulberg International String Competition was held on March 7th at Western Michigan University. The 2009 gold medalist and recipient of the Bach Award is ISB member Nicholas Schwartz, the first bassist to win a Stulberg prize in the competition's history. Nicholas, age 19, is a sophomore at Boston University studying with Ed Barker. In 2008, he received an Honorable Mention Award in the National Symphony's Young Soloist Competition and was featured on NPR's From the Top. He is the youngest member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Schwartz is a member of The Hay Brigade, an acoustic blend of genres that has been featured on WGBH and the BBC World Radio. He received $5,000 and will perform Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 77 by Giovanni Bottesini with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. Congratulations, Nicholas!

 

The roads get narrower and the towns more peaceful as you enter the beautiful Charlevoix region of Québec, Canada, home to the annual Domaine Forget Academy and Summer Festival. This past summer, the double bass faculty included François Rabbath, Paul Ellison, Ali Yazdanfar, Nicholas Walker, David Moore and Sebastien Dubé. Alongside these amazing teachers, one can learn almost at as much from fellow class members. A typical day starts with the walk up a steep hill to the bass barn after breakfast for group technique class. Students play scales, arpeggios and various technical exercises intended to improve facility and endurance. Participants get two group lessons per week with the bass faculty. After lunch, there are group technique classes followed by masterclasses with François Rabbath or Paul Ellison. Each student is given the opportunity to play at least once a week in these masterclasses. Evenings, the time is yours to practice, while late nights are frequently spent around a bonfire. Students were also lucky enough to have a special baroque interpretation class lead by Nicholas Walker, and a class on intonation by David Moore. Besides the intense double bass program, there are faculty recitals, chamber music concerts and dance programs. This past summer, students from high school through graduate school came from Hawaii and England as well as the Lower 48 and Canada to partake in the festival. All in all, Domaine Forget is a wonderful place to spend your summer with giants of the bass world, and to enjoy some delicious gravy fries, a Québécois delicacy.  - Reported by Harish Kumar   
 
The Strad magazine has started a free service to help reunite stringed instrument owners with lost or stolen instruments. If your bass has been lost or stolen in the last few months, go online to www.thestrad.com/lostandstoleninfo and fill out details to be added to the database. The information will then appear to the public on our website from May on, so that readers of The Strad and visitors to www.thestrad.com throughout the world can be alert and aware of lost/stolen instruments if and when they surface.
 
Bass player and composer Gavin Bryars released a CD of his newest Concerto for Double Bass "Farwell to St. Petersburg."  The CD features newcomer Daniel Nix on bass and the Estonian National Male Choir.  The CD, available on-line, also features Gavin Bryars other compositions for mezzo-soprano and baritone.
 
The Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbon, Portugal announces the appointment of Marc Ramirez as principal double bass (soloist A).  After receiving his BM and MM  in orchestral performance at the Manhattan School of Music with Linda McKnight and Tim Cobb, Marc joined the Gulbenkian Orchestra in 1996 as a section member.  He successfully auditioned for the principal double bass position in December, 2008, and has been unanimously confirmed by the orchestra's members.  For more information go to www.musica.gulbenkian.pt.
 
The Nebraska Bass Day Edgar Meyer Masterclass was held April 4th at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Faculty included Omaha Symphony bassists Will Clifton (principal bass), Bill Ritchie (assistant principal) and Mike Swartz (section bass) and University of Nebraska double bass professors Rusty White and Jeremy Baguyos, with special guest Edgar Meyer performing two concertos with the Omaha Symphony.
 
Lenny Finkelshteyn, principal bass with the North Carolina Symphony, premiered a new concerto by J. Mark Scearce, "Antaeus," on April 2nd in Chapel Hill, NC, and April 3rd and 4th in Raleigh, NC. The concerto was commissioned by the North Carolina Symphony under the direction of Grant Llewellyn. For more information about "Antaeus" and the composer,
go to www.ncsymphony.org.
 
Deep Tones for Peace Now! is a daily streaming of live meditations for peace in the Middle East over the Internet using ustream.tv. The idea is to play your bass for 5 to 30 minutes with the intent of sending musical vibrations for peace to be viewed throughout the world. This is open to all bassists who wish to participate in an ongoing musical transmission for peace. Any style or form of music and any level bass player can participate. The main requirement is the intent and desire to create peace in the world. This is part of a larger project, Deep Tones for Peace. For more information on how to participate in Deep Tones for Peace Now, go to  http://deeptonesforpeace.org/live/. On April 26th, Deep Tones for Peace, twenty internationally recognized bassists, will perform for live audiences from two cities in an appeal for peace in the Middle East. The three-part concert will be streamed worldwide on the Internet: at 8 PM Jerusalem/1 PM New York;  at 11PM Jerusalem/4PM New York; and  8PM New York/3AM Jerusalem. Performers, composers and improvisers include Barre Phillips (USA/France), Mark Dresser (USA), J.C. Jones (Israel), Bertram Turetzky (USA), Thierry Barbe (France), Irina-Kalina Goudeva (Bulgaria/Denmark), William Parker (USA), Michael Klinghoffer (Israel), Ora Boazsson (Israel), Ken Filiano (USA), Mark Helias (USA), Han Han Cho (Taiwan), David Phillips (USA), Henry Grimes (USA), Rob Nairn (Australia), Sarah Weaver (USA) and Chi Chi Nwanoku (UK). To learn more about Deep Tones for Peace or to make a donation, go to www.isimprov.org.