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Keturah speaks with Bay Area librettist and composer, Tony Asaro, about his work in musical theater, how he found opera, and the two operas he's currently working on: Zheng, and The Halloween Tree.Tony Asaro: https://www.altnyc.org/tony-asaroTheo Popov: http://www.theopopov.com/Shinji Eshima: https://sfopera.com/about-us/people/bios/orchestra/shinji-eshima/Zheng: https://www.zhengopera.com/The Halloween Tree: https://www.altnyc.org/operas/the-halloween-tree
We are talking about the release of Bariolage - Duets for Violoncello and Double Bass by 2LOW, a cello and bass duo made up of San Francisco Symphony members Charles Chandler and Amos Yang. We are also joined by composer and San Francisco Opera and Ballet bassist Shinji Eshima, who composed the title track for this release from 2LOW. We talk about how Charles and Amos got started in music, Charles working with Shinji as his very first student, details about the album, how this project balances out their work in the symphony, and much more. Enjoy, and be sure to check out this album on Spotify or wherever you get your music! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically! Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 80+ wide-ranging titles for bassists. Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle. Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass. Thank you to our sponsors! Dorico - Dorico helps you to write music notation, automatically producing printed results of exceptional quality — and plays it back with breathtaking realism. It is easy enough for anyone to learn, yet has hundreds of advanced notations, features, options and sounds to satisfy even the most demanding professionals. With its streamlined, natural user interface, students and those with less experience in scoring can compose and arrange straight into Dorico, making learning the language of music notation much faster and more intuitive. Editing and making changes — such as instrument, time signature or key — are straightforward, with the notation instantly and correctly adapting to include them, reinforcing the learning outcome. Ear Trumpet Labs - They make hand-built mics out of Portland, OR and they have an excellent mic for upright bass called Nadine. The Nadine is a condenser mic with a clear natural sound and incredible feedback rejection. This mic is a completely new design -- the head mounts in between the strings above the tailpiece with a rubber grommet, and the body securely straps to the tailpiece with velcro elastic. A 14-inch Mogami cable connects the two parts making it easy to place on any bass. It’s durable and holds up to the demanding needs of the instrument while offering excellent sound quality. Ear Trumpet Labs is offering a free t-shirt just for Contrabass listeners with the purchase of a mic, just visit EarTrumpetLabs.com/contrabass to claim yours and check out the Nadine! Modacity - Are you a practice-savvy musician? Get Modacity – the music practice app that organizes, focuses, and tracks your progress. Recorder… metronome… tone generator… timer… note taking… Do away with the random assortment of music practice apps in your arsenal. Modacity™ combines all the tools you need into one easy to use, music practice tool. Organize, focus, and reflect on your practice – motivating you to increase retention in less time. Modacity has a special offer for Contrabass Conversations listeners that includes lifetime access to the app. Contrabass Conversations production team: Jason Heath, host Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing Mitch Moehring, audio engineer Trevor Jones, publication and promotion Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging theme music by Eric Hochberg
We are talking about the release of Bariolage - Duets for Violoncello and Double Bass by 2LOW, a cello and bass duo made up of San Francisco Symphony members Charles Chandler and Amos Yang. We are also joined by composer and San Francisco Opera and Ballet bassist Shinji Eshima, who composed the title track for this release from 2LOW. We talk about how Charles and Amos got started in music, Charles working with Shinji as his very first student, details about the album, how this project balances out their work in the symphony, and much more. Enjoy, and be sure to check out this album on Spotify or wherever you get your music! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically! Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 80+ wide-ranging titles for bassists. Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle. Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass. Thank you to our sponsors! Dorico - Dorico helps you to write music notation, automatically producing printed results of exceptional quality — and plays it back with breathtaking realism. It is easy enough for anyone to learn, yet has hundreds of advanced notations, features, options and sounds to satisfy even the most demanding professionals. With its streamlined, natural user interface, students and those with less experience in scoring can compose and arrange straight into Dorico, making learning the language of music notation much faster and more intuitive. Editing and making changes — such as instrument, time signature or key — are straightforward, with the notation instantly and correctly adapting to include them, reinforcing the learning outcome. Ear Trumpet Labs - They make hand-built mics out of Portland, OR and they have an excellent mic for upright bass called Nadine. The Nadine is a condenser mic with a clear natural sound and incredible feedback rejection. This mic is a completely new design -- the head mounts in between the strings above the tailpiece with a rubber grommet, and the body securely straps to the tailpiece with velcro elastic. A 14-inch Mogami cable connects the two parts making it easy to place on any bass. It’s durable and holds up to the demanding needs of the instrument while offering excellent sound quality. Ear Trumpet Labs is offering a free t-shirt just for Contrabass listeners with the purchase of a mic, just visit EarTrumpetLabs.com/contrabass to claim yours and check out the Nadine! Modacity - Are you a practice-savvy musician? Get Modacity – the music practice app that organizes, focuses, and tracks your progress. Recorder… metronome… tone generator… timer… note taking… Do away with the random assortment of music practice apps in your arsenal. Modacity™ combines all the tools you need into one easy to use, music practice tool. Organize, focus, and reflect on your practice – motivating you to increase retention in less time. Modacity has a special offer for Contrabass Conversations listeners that includes lifetime access to the app. Contrabass Conversations production team: Jason Heath, host Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing Mitch Moehring, audio engineer Trevor Jones, publication and promotion Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging theme music by Eric Hochberg
Shinji Eshima answers Five Little Questions.
Retiring Principal Bassist Steven D’Amico is joined by his stand mate Shinji Eshima to discuss their careers, the SF Ballet […]
It has been such a pleasure getting to know Charles Chandler since moving to San Francisco! In addition to playing in the San Francisco Symphony, Charles teaches at the San Francisco Academy Orchestra and is an active soloist and chamber musician. He is actively involved with the Golden Gate Bass Camp and other Bay Area double bass events and is a champion of new and previously undiscovered works for the double bass. More About Charles: Bassist Charles Chandler has been a member of the San Francisco Symphony since 1992. Prior to his current position, he was Associate Principal Bass and Soloist with the Phoenix Symphony. He also served as Principal Bass of the Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra and the New York 20th Century Chamber Players. His primary teachers were Shinji Eshima of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and David Walter at the Juilliard School. His numerous honors and awards include the San Francisco Symphony Pepsi Cola Young Musician Award, the Pittenger Scholarship, the Irving Klein Scholarship, and first prize in the A.S.T.A. National String Competition. Upon receiving his Bachelor of Music degree from Juilliard in 1987, Charles Chandler was selected to perform as a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. Playing with Marin Symphony, he has enjoyed performing with his wife Van, a violinist. He also performs at the Music@Menlo Festival and Chamber Music Sundaes series and frequently records at Skywalker Ranch. Mr. Chandler resides in San Francisco with his wife and their daughter Julie. When not playing on his 1750 double bass made by the Venetian luthier, Domenico Busan, he enjoys organic gardening, bicycling, hiking and spending time with his family. Music Featured on this Episode: Rossini Duetto - 1st Movement (Charles Chandler and Amos Yang, recital live in Davies Hall, 2014) Francesco Burlone Sonata No. 8 for Two Basses “The Ferrret” - Mov. 1 Allegro Appassionato - with Charles Chandler & Mark Wright, double bass Francesco Burlone - Prelude to Act III from the opera “Phoebus and Daphne” arranged by the composer for cello and 2 double basses (Amos Yang, Mark Wright, and Charles Chandler, recital live in Davies Hall) Francesco Burlone "Gambo d’ amore” from the opera “La Vigna Incantevole” for Bass and Piano (Sujeevah Hapugalle, piano) Francesco Burlone “O! Mie Stelle” from the opera “Galileo” for bass and piano (Sujeevah Hapugalle, piano) Pierre-Louis Hus Desforges Sonata for Cello and bass (with Amos Yang live in Davies Hall) Links to Check Out: Charles' website Charles' San Francisco Symphony page Charles' San Francisco Academy Orchestra page Shinji Eshima Interview (Shinji taught Charles during high school) Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by: This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. The Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!
Artem Chirkov is the principal bassist of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and was the winner of the 2010 Bradetich International Double Bass Competition. I got a chance to hear Artem play a wonderful recital while he was in San Francisco this March. Here's a great shot of Artem and San Francisco Opera principal bassist Joe Lescher as they performed Passione Amorosa together. I headed over to San Francisco Opera bassist and former podcast guest Shinji Eshima's place the next day to chat with Artem. We had a great and wide-ranging conversation, covering topics like: the origins of Bassiona Amorosa, the group that Artem has been a part of for the past two decades the fact that Artem always plays on a borrowed bass how he does this and how it actually connects us together as bassists to do that the routine that Artem goes through to acquaint him with new basses how the bass as a solo instrument has evolved and challenges still facing the bass as a solo instrument learning how to feel the freedom in your playing music and its connection to culture bass not as religion but as relation (this is a great topic that happens near the end of our chat) Links to Check Out: Artem's recordings Impromptus of the Soul Bassiona Amorosa (bass ensembles) Reminiscence of the 20th Century Artem Chirkov LIVE in-studio performance (YouTube) Artem Master Class (YouTube) Thanks to our sponsors! This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D’Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets. Enter our latest string giveaway for Helicore strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings! Rosin Saver is a revolutionary storage device that keeps bass rosin feeling as fresh as the day it was made. It was developed in Sweden by a pair professional bassists and Rice graduates. What makes bass rosin so soft and sticky is the addition of natural waxes and solvents. Basically, as these evaporate, your rosin becomes a dry, powdery and useless. Rosin Saver prevents this evaporation by completely saturating the air surrounding your rosin, The result is rosin that always feels and sounds great regardless of the weather, temperature or venue and vastly extends the life of rosin. Rosin Saver is used by members of top orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the MET orchestra, the Los Angles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra among many others. Use the promo code 'HEATH' at checkout for 10% off any and all orders from rosinsaver.com.
What a year 2016 has been! This past year is when I kicked the podcast into overdrive, and the stats bear this out: 125 total podcasts released 907,231 podcasts downloaded this year average of 2.4 shows released per week average daily listens: 2,486 This episode takes a look back at the guests featured this year and features a short quote from my conversation with them. Here's the "guest list" along with a link to their interview: Paul Ellison - http://contrabassconversations.com/paul Lauren Pierce and Geoff Chalmers - http://contrabassconversations.com/laurenpierce Marc Ramirez - http://contrabassconversations.com/marcramirez Ju-Fang Liu - http://contrabassconversations.com/jufangliu Andrew Raciti - http://contrabassconversations.com/andrewraciti Bruce Bransby - http://contrabassconversations.com/brucebransby Douglas Mapp - http://contrabassconversations.com/douglasmapp Ian Hallas - http://contrabassconversations.com/ianhallas Carlos Henriquez - http://contrabassconversations.com/carloshenriquez Brent Edmondson - http://contrabassconversations.com/brentedmondson Susan Lipkins - http://contrabassconversations.com/susanlipkins Nick Lloyd - http://contrabassconversations.com/nicklloyd George Martin - http://contrabassconversations.com/georgemartin Ron Carter - http://contrabassconversations.com/roncarter Barry Green and Jeff Bradetich - http://contrabassconversations.com/barrygreen David Murray - http://contrabassconversations.com/davidmurray Michael Klinghoffer - http://contrabassconversations.com/michaelklinghoffer Inez Wyrick - http://contrabassconversations.com/inezwyrick Gaelen McCormick - http://contrabassconversations.com/gaelenmccormick Andres Martin - http://contrabassconversations.com/andresmartin Bert Turetzky - http://contrabassconversations.com/turetzky Ira Gold - http://contrabassconversations.com/iragold Chuck Israels - http://contrabassconversations.com/chuckisraels Adam Ben Ezra - http://contrabassconversations.com/adambenezra Peter Tambroni - http://contrabassconversations.com/petertambroni Trevor Jones - http://contrabassconversations.com/trevorjones Claus Freudenstein - http://contrabassconversations.com/clausfreudenstein Guy Tuneh - http://contrabassconversations.com/guytuneh Joe Conyers - http://contrabassconversations.com/joeconyers Madeleine Crouch - http://contrabassconversations.com/madeleinecrouch Justin Locke - http://contrabassconversations.com/justinlocke Leon Bosch - http://contrabassconversations.com/leonbosch Robin Kesselman - http://contrabassconversations.com/robinkesselman Jerry Fuller - http://contrabassconversations.com/jerryfuller Arnold Schnitzer - http://contrabassconversations.com/arnoldschnitzer Gjorgji Cincievski - http://contrabassconversations.com/gjorgjicincievski Gabe Katz - http://contrabassconversations.com/gabekatz Brandon McLean - http://contrabassconversations.com/brandonmclean Katie Ernst - http://contrabassconversations.com/katieernst Nicholas Walker - http://contrabassconversations.com/nicholaswalker Lloyd Goldstein - http://contrabassconversations.com/lloydgoldstein David White - http://contrabassconversations.com/davidwhite Jory Herman - http://contrabassconversations.com/joryherman Matthew McDonald - http://contrabassconversations.com/matthewmcdonald Thomas Martin - http://contrabassconversations.com/thomasmartin Thierry Barbe - http://contrabassconversations.com/thierrybarbe Sam Suggs - http://contrabassconversations.com/samsuggs Pablo Aslan - http://contrabassconversations.com/pabloaslan Christine Hoock - http://contrabassconversations.com/christinehoock Emilio Guarino - http://contrabassconversations.com/emilioguarino Danny Ziemann - http://contrabassconversations.com/dannyziemann Peter Seymour - http://contrabassconversations.com/peterseymour Hugh Sung - http://contrabassconversations.com/hughsung Diana Gannett - http://contrabassconversations.com/dianagannett Hans Sturm - http://contrabassconversations.com/hanssturm Nina DeCesare - http://contrabassconversations.com/ninadecesare Corey Brown - http://contrabassconversations.com/coreybrown Craig Butterfield - http://contrabassconversations.com/craigbutterfield Frank Proto - http://contrabassconversations.com/frankproto Shinji Eshima - http://contrabassconversations.com/shinjieshima Sandor Ostlund - http://contrabassconversations.com/sandorostlund Trevor Davis - http://contrabassconversations.com/trevordavis Seth Hanes - http://contrabassconversations.com/sethhanes Rob Knopper - http://contrabassconversations.com/robknopper Allan Santos - http://contrabassconversations.com/allansantos Jonathan Haskell - http://contrabassconversations.com/jonathanhaskell David Heyes - http://contrabassconversations.com/davidheyes Szymon Marciniak - http://contrabassconversations.com/szymonmarciniak Garrett Hope - http://contrabassconversations.com/garretthope Johnny Hamil - http://contrabassconversations.com/johnnyhamil Cornelia Watkins - http://contrabassconversations.com/corneliawatkins Dennis Bergevin - http://contrabassconversations.com/dennisbergevin Alex Ritter - http://contrabassconversations.com/alexritter George Amorim - http://contrabassconversations.com/georgeamorim Reuben Rogers - http://contrabassconversations.com/reubenrogers Yung-Chiao Wei - http://contrabassconversations.com/yungchiaowei Petia Bagovska - http://contrabassconversations.com/petiabagovska Florian Pertzborn - http://contrabassconversations.com/florianpertzborn Rob Anzellotti - http://contrabassconversations.com/robanzellotti David Allen Moore - http://contrabassconversations.com/davidallenmoore Dave Swift - http://contrabassconversations.com/daveswift Scott Devine - http://contrabassconversations.com/scottdevine Ben Allison - http://contrabassconversations.com/benallison Bill Merchant - http://contrabassconversations.com/billmerchant Chris Hanulik - http://contrabassconversations.com/chrishanulik Caleb Quillen - http://contrabassconversations.com/calebquillen James Newcomb - http://contrabassconversations.com/jamesnewcomb Tracy Friedlander - http://contrabassconversations.com/tracyfriedlander Other fun stats from 2016: Most downloaded episodes of 2016: Gjorgji Cincievski Matthew McDonald Peter Tambroni Lloyd Goldstein Nicholas Walker Most-viewed interviews on Facebook of 2016: Reuben Rogers Johnny Hamil Sandor Ostlund Yung-Chiao Wei Dennis Bergevin Multiple Appearances: Lauren Pierce (twice) Peter Tambroni (twice) Justin Locke (twice) Bass Festival Previews: ISB BASS2016 RCM Thematic Weeks: Luthier Week Gary Karr Week A Passion for Teaching Entrepreneur Week Teaching Week Memories from Prague Thanks to our sponsors! This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings! Hosting for Contrabass Conversations is provided by Bass Capos. Bass Capos are an excellent choice for any bass player using or looking to implement a double bass extension. Easy to install and adjust, cheaper and more reliable than hand-built latches, also lighter and quicker in operation.
Allan Santos and I met 15 years ago at the Britt Festival in Oregon. I vividly recall drinking beer with him at the bar while Dave Anderson shot pool in the corner. After studying with players like Shinji Eshima and John Hood, Allan had landed an orchestra gig in the Toledo Symphony. The goal had been reached. But Allan felt like things were at an 8 in his life. Not a 10. What would a 10 look like? Fast forward to the present, and Allan is on a totally different path. Allan left the Toledo Symphony several years ago. He became the #7 ranked yoga competitor in the nation (yes, we talk about this!). He has now moved into Life Coaching. After reading my manifesto about my new direction in life, he reached out to me and we started talking. He was tremendously helpful in helping me gain clarity about the next steps in my life. I’d never had conversations like this. He gave me strategies to obtain clarity and focus on what’s actually important in any given moment. The is a deep conversation for sure. I’ve never really put anything like this out on the podcast. My conversation with Trevor Jones might be the closest thing. But I know you’ll enjoy it! Resources we covered in this interview: Allan Santos (Facebook) Allan’s email: allan@allanjaysantos.com Documentary on Marshal Hawkins (Allan’s first bass teacher) Allan’s yoga competition video Martha Beck Institute (where Allan studied as a Life Coach) Unemployment Never Sounded So Sweet (the post I wrote that put us back in touch) Two book recommendations from Allan: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron The Big Leap by Hendricks Gay leave a review for Contrabass Conversations in iTunes! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to your mobile device! Thanks to our sponsor! This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!
Most musicians don’t have a day dedicated to them in their hometown. Shinji Eshima does. In 2011, the city of Berkeley, California named the day December 6th Shinji Eshima Day, in his honor for his contributions to the arts. Even fewer musicians play an instrument featured in a Degas painting. But Shinji Eshima does. His Plumerel bass is the very same instrument painted by Degas in L’Orchestre de l’Opera. Shinji’s impact on the double bass world has been tremendous. He has performed with the San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Opera Orchestras for decades. He teaches at San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His students have gone on to perform with the San Francisco Symphony, Utah Symphony, London Philharmonia, Montreal Symphony and the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam. But Shinji is also a composer… and what a composer! In 2011, the San Francisco Ballet commissioned him to write a ballet. RAkU was the result, and it has been performed across the globe by the San Francisco Ballet. RAkU has also joined the repertoire of The Joffrey Ballet. Swimmer, his third ballet for the San Francisco Ballet, premiered in 2015. We talk about Shinji’s early years on the instrument, studying with David Walter, performing in the pit, getting into composing, and much more! Links to check out If It’s Tuesday it Must be Up-Bow from Soliloquy album (performed by Patrick Neher) San Francisco Ballet in RAkU (YouTube) RAkU: A Conversation with Shinji Eshima (YouTube) Swimmer - ballet composed by Shinji Eshima (YouTube) Shinji’s 1843 Plumerl double bass as portrayed by Degas in Orchestra of the Opera Listener feedback links: Ray Parker - bassist Ira Gold’s new project on mockauditions.com Jason's appearance on The Entrepreneurial Musician Jason's appearance on A Musical Life This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!
Dance Educator Mary Wood interviews Resident Choreographer Yuri Possokhov and San Francisco Ballet Orchestra Member and Composer Shinji Eshima about […]