Introduction
What makes “classical” music? The cleanest delineation I can find is in the act of composition: the explicit writing-out of all the parts to be played. At its core, this act is a careful consideration of each element of one’s creation, a winnowing-down of the unnecessary and inefficient in the pursuit of plain language. This quality instills within my technical practice a desire to transcend the idiosyncrasies inherent to the structure of the double bass. The closer I can get to a sound that is fundamentally clear, simple, and free of artifice, the more versatile a collaborator I become.
This viewpoint shapes my tastes as well. If our practice aims for clarity of expression, then we as interpreters must closely examine the sentiment we are tasked with conveying. Does it tangle with our lived experiences, or does it seek to ignore them, to provide an escape? The works of art I find most arresting are those which don’t shy away from reality, no matter what complications it may impose. It is through such confrontation that one may discover a truth both simple and earnest.
My interests lie primarily in the creation of living music, through active collaboration with composers. I am most at home in small ensembles, though my technique has a firm grounding in the orchestral tradition of the Common Practice Era. I take these skills both as a basis of communal understanding and as a point of departure.
Education
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CUNY Graduate Center
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August 2020 – present
Doctor of Musical Arts
Principal Studies with Rex Surany, Principal Bass of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
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Rice University's Shepherd School of Music
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August 2016 – May 2019
Master of Music
Principal Studies with Paul Ellison
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Oberlin College and Conservatory
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August 2012 – May 2016
Bachelor of Music
Principal Studies with Scott Dixon of the Cleveland Orchestra
Experience
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Da Camera of Houston
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August 2018 – May 2020
Young Artist Fellow
Solo and chamber music performances, and service as a Teaching Artist in public schools
