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Register now to attend the 2009 ISB convention,
June 8 through 13, 2009 at Penn State University in State College, PA! Go to
Thomastik-Infeld GmbH, Vienna, Austria, announces with deep sadness the unexpected passing of owner and CEO Peter Infeld on April 15, 2009. He was 66. He became involved in the company at an early age, and his love of music and the arts inspired all those around him. Thomastik-Infeld Vienna was founded in 1919 by Dr. Franz Thomastik and Otto Infeld, whose invention of the steel-core string for bowed instruments revolutionized string design and production. Under Peter Infeld, the company maintained its family traditions and values. In addition to his role as entrepreneur and generous patron, Mr. Infeld was well known as a passionate art collector and singer. His ongoing exhibitions In Austria and Croatia gave art enthusiasts a chance to experience his large collection of paintings, and his multiple recordings as a trained tenor exhibited his passion for operatic music. In a press release mourning its founder, the company honored Mr. Infeld: "The world of music has lost a unique voice and true patron. Thomastik-Infeld will greatly miss, and shall always honor, his guidance, inspiration and leadership, and those nearest him will long grieve the loss of a dear friend."
 On April 8th, ISB president-elect Rob Nairn gave the world premiere of a new double bass concerto, About K.I. by Australian composer Barry Conygnham, with the Penn State Chamber Orchestra, Gerardo Edelstein conducting. A second version of the same work for double bass and tape was premiered at Harvard in Boston on April 4th. This is Barry's second bass concerto. The first, Shadows of Noh, was written for and premiered by Bert Turetzky in 1979. About K.I. is a set of five scenes depicting the landscapes, native animals and people of Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia.
Nicholas Bayley, principal bass of The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, will give world premiere performances of Haflidi Hallgrimsson's new concerto for bass and orchestra on Friday, May 8, 2009, 7:30 PM, at the Glasgow City Hall, and Saturday, May 9th, 7:30 PM, at Queen's Hall in Edinburgh. The Concerto Op 42 "Sonnambulo" is a co-commission of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Scottish Bass Trust. There will be a pre-concert talk before both concerts at 6.30 PM, with composer Haflidi Hallgrimsson speaking about the new work.
ISB member Benjamin Harris, a student at Juilliard and second prize winner in the senior division of the 2009 Sphinx Competition, made his Carnegie Hall debut on April 26th in Weill Recital Hall performing Bottesini's Concerto No. 2 as part of Julie Jordan's Spring Workshop for Students.
ISB member Patrick McNally was guest soloist with the Spokane Symphony on May 1st, performing the Dittersdorf Concerto in E Major at the newly renovated Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox in Spokane, Washington.
Chuck Sher has honed his listening skills as part of his job publishing Sher Music Co.'s well-known (and legit) fake books. You can now be the beneficiary of his 50-year love affair with jazz by going to http://www.shermusic.com and hitting the big green button at the bottom of the home page. This will take you to a series of Rhapsody playlists you can listen to for free on your home computer. For a small monthly fee, Rhapsody subscribers can access thousands and thousands of jazz CDs at no extra charge (complete tracks in almost all cases), but even if you are not a subscriber to Rhapsody's online music service, you can still listen to 25 songs from Chuck's playlists per month without charge - some 700 songs (50 hours) of music, with additions every month. Go to www.shermusic.com.
FESTIVALS, COMPETITIONS, AUDITIONS
Duncan McTier will hold his annual summer masterclasses in Sion, Switzerland, July 18-25, 2009. For details and more information please visit www.amsion.ch. Students of all abilities welcome!
Little Rock Bass and Harp Masterclasses with Elisabeth Chardonnet, harp, and John Dahlstrand, double bass, will be held June 8-13, 2009 at the St. John's Catholic Center on N. Tyler St. in Little Rock. Beginner to advanced students welcome (one year's prior lessons required). For more information or a registration form, email duo@millenia-music.com, call (501) 664-6534, or visit www.millenia-music.com/masterclass.html. The VSA/Oberlin Advanced Topics Workshop will be held July 5-12, 2009. The course will focus on the set-up, repair and acoustics of the double bass, topics to include: fingerboard planing and adjustment, bridge fitting, innovative crack repair techniques, and set-up variations for classical and jazz playing. The workshop hopes to take advantage of world-class acoustics experts who will be faculty members of the concurent VSA/Oberlin Acoustics Workshop. Participants are encouraged to bring project instruments if practical, and must bring their own hand tools, set-up and repair parts needed for individual projects. Faculty will include James Ham, director, David Gage and Patrick Charton, plus George Stoppani and Knut Guttler from the Acoustic Workshop. For details email jamespeterham@shaw.ca. A festival of contemporary music for double bass will be held at the Conservatorio di Musica di Perugia, Italy, May 4-7, 2009. Featured performers include Stefano Scodanibbio, Thierry Barbe, Alberto Bocini, Bozo Paradzik, Catalin Rotaru and Daniele Roccato. Admission to concerts, masterclasses, and luthiers' exhibition is free. For more information go to www.ludusgravis.com. Faculty for the 9th International Double Bass Convention in Brno, Czech Republic, September 20-26, 2009, Miloslav Jelinek, director, will include Petia Bagovska, Bulgaria, Thierry Barbe, France, Ekkehard Beringer, Germany, Carlos Del Pino, Cuba/USA, Gottfried Engels, Germany, Miloslav Gajdos, Czech Republic, Pavel Horak, Czech Republic, Petr Korinek, Czech Republic, Thomas Martin, United Kingdom, Irena Olkiewicz, Poland, Miloslav Raisigl, Czech Republic, Catalin Rotaru, Romania/USA, Radoslav Sasina, Slovakia, Martin Sranko, Czech Republic, Jiri Valenta, Czech Republic, and Jakub Waldmann, Czech Republic. The convention features recitals, lectures and performances of solo, jazz, chamber and orchestral music, competitions, and exhibitors. Deadline to register is July 10, 2009. For information and an application, go to http://hf.jamu.cz or www.volny.cz/spol-kontrabas. Questions? Email jelinekmilos@volny.cz or konarkova@jamu.cz.
Make plans to attend an international double bass masterclass with Christine Hoock, August 20-27, 2009, in Gorizia in northeastern Italy at the foot of the Alps and bordering Slovenia. All lessons, rehearsals, accommodations and meals will be held in the charming and historic Palazzo Lantieri in the center of Gorizia. Christine and Tomoko Takahashi will give a concert to open the week. Participants will give public concerts in the Palazzo and around town. Application deadline is June 30th, go to www.christinehoock.de for more information and to register.
The 2009 Texas Double Bass Symposium will be held October 24-25, 2009 at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Special guest artists are François Rabbath and Joel Quarrington. The faculty, subject to change, includes George Amorim (UT Pan-Am), Jeff Bradetich (UNT), Paul Ellison (Rice), Kip Green (TCU, jazz), Yuan Xiong Lu (TCU), Mark Morton (Texas Tech), David Neubert (UT Austin), Sandor Ostlund (Baylor University), Tim Pitts (Rice and Houston Symphony), John Schimek (Oklahoma City University), Lynn Seaton (UNT, jazz), Anthony Stoops (Oklahoma University), Dennis Whittaker (Univ. of Houston) and Da Xun Zhang (UT Austin). Bing Luo (Shanghai Conservatory) and Tian Rui Zhao (Shenyang Conservatory) will give masterclasses. In addition to lectures, recitals, masterclasses and exhibits, the symposium will feature a student recital, an All-State Workshop for high school students, and an Orchestra Mock Audition with $500 first prize. Advance registration is $30 for participants (due by October 15), $15 for auditors/$20 at the door. Make checks payable to Texas Christian University, Double Bass Symposium. To register or for more information, please contact Charlene Smith, School of Music, Texas Christian University, TCU Box 297500, Fort Worth, TX 76129, (817) 257-7232, fax (817) 257-5818, c.smith3@tcu.edu. Questions? Call Yuan Xiong Lu, (817) 257-4465.
The 16th Oklahoma City University Summer Bass Camp will be held July 12-16, 2009 in the Wanda L. Bass Music Center at Oklahoma City University, site of the 2007 ISB Convention. The week-long camp for ages high school and up of all abilities features training in all aspects of bassdom. The camp concludes with a Bass Blast! concert featuring music for bass choir. For
more information contact camp director and professor of double bass at OCU, John Schimek, at jschimek@okcu.edu.
The International Festival-Institute at Round Top, Texas, a professional summer institute for orchestra, chamber music and solo performance study, will be May 31 - July 12, 2009. The bass faculty includes James VanDemark and Brett Shurtliffe. For information go to http://festivalhill.org, call 979/249-3086 or email program director Alain Declert, alaind@festivalhill.org.
Jam, scat, move, and groove to the 2009 Golden Gate Bass Camp for bass players only at the Valley Center for the Performing Arts, Holy Names University, in Oakland CA, July 5th - July 12th, with David Murray, Robert Hurst, Michael Manring, Mark Dresser, Kristin Korb, Barry Green, David Young, John Kennedy, Ashley Adams Richard Duke, Ed Williams, Pat Klobas, Alan Scofield and others TBA (faculty artists subject to change). Faculty for the Ray Brown Memorial Jazz Course, July 9 - July 12, with featured clinician Robert Hurst on July 9th only, include Michael Manring, Mark Dresser and Pat Klobas, assisted by Kristin Korb, Richard Duke and Ed Williams. The Michael Manring Electric Bass Course, July 9th - 10th, also includes a guest session with Robert Hurst. For more information contact Barry Green, Barry@innergameofmusic.com, or go to www.innergameofmusic.com/basscamp/.
The 2009 University of North Texas (Denton, TX) Double Bass Camps feature four opportunities for summer study: 1) 5th Annual Elite Soloists Program, June 1-5, will accept five students by audition to study with Jeff Bradetich. Daily lessons and solo classes. Applicants should have a number of solo works ready for study and performance. Send a CD or tape of two different solo works to Jeff Bradetich, 1155 Union Circle #311367, Denton, TX 76203 by April, 21, 2009. 2) 22nd Annual Bradetich Double Bass Master Classes, June 15-19, are for advanced high school and college aged bass students. Five days of intense musical training including technique, orchestral and solo playing, and bass ensembles. 3) 9th Annual Beginners and Intermediate Bass Camp, June 17-19, 2009, is for beginners or intermediate players of all ages. 4 ) 8th Annual Lynn Seaton Jazz Bass Workshop, June 15-19, 2009, is for dedicated jazz bass players working on upright technique, developing walking bass lines, small group performance, theory and history. Open to advanced high school, college, serious amateur, and professional bassists. For more information on the University of North Texas Double Bass Camps, go to http://www.music.unt.edu/strings/untbasscamp.shtml.
Canada's National Arts Centre is now accepting applications for the 2009 NAC Young Artists Programme in Ottawa, June 9 - July 1, 2009 (Junior Strings June 14 - July 1). The Programme identifies and fosters young, exceptional musical talent through intensive instruction led by Artistic Director Pinchas Zukerman and an internationally-renowned faculty including Joel Quarrington, NAC Orchestra Principal Bass. Outstanding private instruction and chamber music coaching. All students will perform in public chamber music concerts and may perform in public masterclasses, as well as closed works-in-progress and recitals. Announcing Suzuki Bass Teacher Training Courses for 2009: Virginia Dixon's Book 1 Course will be taught at the Colorado Suzuki Institute at Beaver Creek, Colorado, June 14-21. Reasonable resort condo accommodations, scholarships available. For information go to www.coloradosuzuki.org or call (303) 399-5764. Book 2 will be taught in the Chicago area this summer depending on response. Email Virginia Dixon at virginia@elmhurst.edu. The Book 3 course will be held at the American Suzuki Institute at Stevens Point, Wisconsin, August 3-7. The full gamut of Suzuki education, from the earliest fun and games through an advanced chamber music program. Go to www.uwsp.edu/cofac/suzuki or call (715) 346-3033.
ON SALE NOW
New! Order print music, CDs, DVDs and videos, t-shirts, posters, back issues of magazines and more at www.ISBstore.com.
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