Next Level Bassist Left Hand

Describe your background
My teachers, who have supported me throughout my career, have
been instrumental in my development as a musician. Hal Robinson
and Edgar Meyer at Curtis, Ranaan Meyer during high school, and
even my elementary school teacher Mrs. Zoshak, have all helped me
so much.
I started playing the bass when I was eight years old. My third grade
teacher Mrs. Zoshak started me on bass and encouraged me, even
after I broke the first school instrument I was using. Fortunately, she
replaced it right away so I could keep playing! I remember the day in
third grade when my parents and I first learned about the Curtis Institute
of Music, a school we’d never heard of before. Mrs. Zoshak saw
something in my early playing and mentioned Curtis to my parents
and me. She’s followed me throughout my musical career, and I’ve
really appreciated her continued support. She recently saw me perform
with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Carnegie Hall and even came to
my final performance at the Curtis Institute of Music. These types of
relationships are really important.
At this point in my career, I consider Ranaan Meyer, Hal Robinson,
and Edgar Meyer to have been my life changing teachers. They have
driven me to be a better musician, and seeing them perform, teach,
and continue to learn themselves, gives me perspective on what being
a musician is all about. Growth comes not only from experience, but
also sharing the experience with others. Without their knowledge
and support, I wouldn’t be half the musician I am today.
Do you have specific memories of
breakthrough moments as a musician?
Three major moments come to mind as highlights of my career. As
part of Curtis On Tour, we opened for the Dresden Music Festival
in Germany in May 2012. We performed an all-Brahms program in
Die Frauenkirche, the only church to survive the shelling of Dresden
in World War II. It was amazing just to play in this historical church.
Playing Brahms Academic Festival Overture, the Double Concerto,
and the Symphony No. 2 under Robert Spano was an incredibly
powerful experience. That trip was my first time leaving the country,
which makes it very memorable. I remember vividly being on stage
playing Brahms 2, looking out into the audience which was only a
few feet away. I was looking out while we were playing, smiling at
someone and seeing them smile back. The audience was on the edge
of their seats listening intensely to the music. It was great to see the
musical appreciation that is so strong there, and it made playing so
much more fun.
The other memorable experience was back in 2007 at Interlochen,
when I was in high school. This was the moment that I realized that
playing in orchestra could be so much fun. I was playing in the World
Youth Symphony Orchestra under Jung-Ho Pak, and the repertoire
was Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. It was my first time ever playing a
major symphony, one that I spent a long time preparing the bass part
and making sure I had the music down cold. Usually at Interlochen
you rehearse something for two weeks and perform it, but for this
work we spent four weeks rehearsing. It was a lot of hard work that
really paid off. I remember a moment when there was a Grand
Pause and everything echoed through the hall. I thought that was so
awesome and I knew then that I wanted to do that forever. This took
my personal enjoyment to a whole new level. The fact that you can
have a career playing incredible music still excites and motivates me.
My final and most recent memorable experience was my first
performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Performing with the
Philadelphia Orchestra has always been a goal of mine ever since I
started playing the bass. I grew up in the area and have been going
to see them since I was a young child. I was really excited to work
alongside all the talented members of the orchestra especially my
teacher, Hal Robinson. It was truly an unforgettable experience and
I learned a lot in the process. I was fortunate to play under the baton
of Yannick Nezet-Seguin, performing Bruckner’s 9th Symphony and
Barber’s Adagio for Strings, which really showcased the unbelievable
string sound of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Describe your warm-up routine
Personally I’m not really one to have a set warm-up routine. I was
never really big on scales, never too fond of etudes, and neither were
my teachers growing up. When I first pick up the bass for the day,
many times I will just experiment on the bass. I’ll throw on a drone,
or use my open D string, and warm up my fingers. I improvise a bit,
get the blood flowing. It’s nice to walk into a practice room without
feeling like you have to be completely serious right away. Once I start
to open up my excerpts or solos, whatever I’m working on at the time,
I first attack those sections or moments I know that I struggle with. I
like to start off my practice sessions breaking trouble spots down to
their simplest forms, just the left or right hand to start, maybe playing
a passage on one note, working on the bow stroke, or slowly adding
speed. I don’t have a set time for my warm-up, and it changes day to
day based on the way my practice went the day before. If I discovered a
new trouble spot the day before, where perhaps my right hand isn’t as
clear as my left, I’ll break it down at the beginning of the next day and
make sure I separate hands to work it back into context.
Any specific thoughts on left hand
approaches? Thumb position or otherwise?
I have messed around with Edgar Meyer’s concepts in thumb position.
I have found it helpful in a lot of situations and not in others. I found
that if I zoned in on the idea that you need to use some strange fancy
fingering to impress people, it was counterproductive. I remember
when I came to Curtis, and I would always feel like I needed to play a
certain way or incorporate the “thumbage” as Hal and Edgar call it. I
found that sometimes I was making it harder on myself to try and do
complicated fingerings when a simpler solution existed. Everyone will
play a passage differently based on hand size or body build. “Thumbage”
is a great tool to have, and sometimes it can solve tricky problems.
I think it’s a personal thing and as you develop your technique you
learn when and how to use techniques to get the best outcome.
What do you hope to be doing
10 years in the future?
It’s my dream to play in a high caliber professional orchestra. I’ve
always loved being in orchestra, playing on stage with a big section
and having a great time playing music. There’s nothing as rewarding
as working with extremely gifted friends and colleagues. On top of
playing in an orchestra, I would really enjoy giving back and helping
the next generation of bass players by teaching. It’s something I’ve
always wanted to do and I’ve been very lucky to have such great
teachers in my life helping me. I feel like I need to give back by
creating another generation of students who will pass that good
SUMMER 2014 NEXT LEVEL BASSIST 11