The ISB E-newsletter is back after its summer vacation (it was exhausted after the very successful 2011 convention at San Francisco State University!) Congratulations to newsletter editor Lisa Riddering Brown and her husband Dan Brown, a tuba player, on their joyful marriage in June. They pre-tested their marriage by working as volunteers at the convention just two weeks before the wedding, and we're happy to report they are a harmonious duo and the e-newsletter highly approves of the match. 

Harmon Lewis, photo by Judy Kirtley

Speaking of duos, the Karr-Lewis Duo of Gary Karr and Harmon Lewis celebrates its 40th year making glorious music. Harmon Lewis was presented with the first-ever ISB Special Recognition Award for Collaborative Music at the 2011 convention. Click here to read the entire list of 2011 award winners, including the 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award.

Jazz bassist Christian McBride will perform a new concerto written for him by George Duke with the 67-member Symphonic Jazz Orchestra in a free concert at UCLA's Royce Hall on September 24th. In Jazz Times magazine, George Duke says, 'It is written for the full breadth of Christian's talents including upright, fretless and electric basses." The piece includes a jazz rhythm section plus with a full orchestra.
 

ISB president-elect Kristin Korb and Morten Støve were married on July 26th, congratulations to the happy couple!

2005 ISB jazz competition winner Ben Williams was featured on NPR's "A Blog Supreme" recently. Here's a link to his live show from the 92nd Street Y in New York City on July 19th. On the same bill, you can listen to another rising star, ISB member Pedro Giraudo, leading his jazz orchestra.
 

Nicholas Walker and his wife Katherine welcomed their daughter Emeline Leslie Walker, born July 31st "at dawn." Newly minted big sister Clara is enjoying her promotion!

Tim Cobb will join the New York Philharmonic as acting principal bass for the 2011-12 season. Tim is on leave from the Metropolitan Opera, where he is principal bass. The New York Philharmonic has four bass vacancies to fill, including the principal and associate principal positions.

The Oklahoma City University Bass Ensemble presented eleven school performances in two days in May while touring the North Dallas, TX area. Directed by John Schimek (center, see photo below), professor of double bass, the ensemble included ISB members Sarah Barnaby, Hamilton Pyburn, Brendan Bradford, Alex Smith, Eric Carter and Elizabeth Roewe.

Click here to view and hear San Francisco Symphony principal Scott Pingel performing the Vanhal concerto on the Karr-Koussevistzky Bass. Click here for the encores!

Click here to view and hear Han Han Cho of the Taiwan Symphony perform Bottesini's La Sonnambula Fantasy. Han Han made her ISB convention debut in June.
  
This past April, local bass players met at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon for a celebration of the music of Teppo Hauta-aho. Bass Day organizer Whitney Moulton (far right) and special guest Miriam Chong (third from right) started the afternoon by playing a duet by Teppo. The afternoon was topped off with a read-through of Hauta-aho's "Mini Bass Symphony."

Click here to view and hear Fernando Grillo in recital as part of the E-Theatre Colosseum - Rome, performing his own composition inspired by Ulysses by James Joyce, "Penelope's Day." Click here to view and hear the final public appearance of Carmelo Bene, lecturing on The Divine Comedy of Dante, with a musical interpretation by Fernando Grill. 
 

Luthier Benedict Puglisi appears in episode six of "Made by Hand", a new documentary-style television series that showcases the world of handmade works made by the crafts people of Melbourne, Australia. 

Rob Nairn performed "Per Questa" with the Handel & Haydn Society.

ISB past president Rob Nairn performed Mozart's "Per questa bella mano" with the Boston Handel & Haydn Society at Boston Symphony Hall on May 1st.  

Colin Corner, principal bass of the Rochester Philharmonic,  performed the Vanhal Concerto and Mozart's "Per questa bella mano" with the RPO on July 27th. 

In October, Dan Styffe will perform "Hitting the First Base," a concerto by Fredrik Högberg, with the Tromsø, Sweden chamber orchestra, and will record for CD release later in the month. He will play Rolf Martinsson's Concerto No. 1 for double bass with the Trondheim Symphony on October 20th. 

 

Double bass stolen in Mendoza (Argentina): Laureano Melchiori reports that robbers entered her house and took her Agustin Rosso bass, 2005, 4/4 size, light brown almost yellow color, dark brown walnut ridge, ebony fingerboard. On the upper back part of the bass it has an unusual rhomboid carving, and it also had a brown and black bass bib. It is missing the tuning peg of the D string. Email edhison@gmail.com with information.

 

The American Federation of Musicians will again be supporting a provision for musical instruments as carry-on/checked luggage on airplanes in the FAA reauthorization bill in 2011. Due to other issues within the bill, it did not pass this year and must be reintroduced. The AFM will again seek a uniform national policy regarding musical instruments that will apply to all major airlines. In order to gain support in Congress for this legislation, the AFM must demonstrate that musicians have problems every day with airline travel. Send your personal stories of airline travel issues to Hal Ponder at hponder@afm.org, or Laura Brigandi, lbrigandi@afm.org. In order to be relevant, the complaint should be about an occurrence within the last year.

AUGUST  

Christine Hoock will give a masterclass August 24th to September 1st at the Fondazione Musicale Santa Cecilia in beautiful Portoguaro, Italy. Scholarships are available. For information and an application, email anna.padovan@fmsantacecilia.it. www.fmsantacecilia.it