Age: 26
Hometown: Dayton, Ohio
Started playing: Age 15.
Colleges attended, teachers: Eastman School of Music (James Van Demark), University of Maryland (Curtis Burris); I have played for most of the NSO bassists.
Festivals, institutes: Interlochen 1997, Shira Festival 1999-2000, Chautauqua ' 2000-04, NOI 2004
Instrument: Jacquet
How long have you been in the Washington area? Four years.
What is the geographical range of your free-lancing? I'll drive north as far as Rochester (for the Rochester Philharmonic), south to Lynchburg, VA, and east to Annapolis, MD.
What was your worst gig? I played the musical Damn Yankees in Dayton, Ohio. The pit was about a 12 foot drop from the stage, and it was covered with black cloth to keep baseballs from rolling into it. One of the actresses didn't realize that it was cloth, stepped into it, and completely fell on top of the horn section. I think she broke her leg. Somehow, all of the players were okay, and amazingly, the woman who got hurt the most was the one who immediately called an ambulance. Everyone else freaked out- including me. I just grabbed my bass and got out of there!
What have been your best engagements? The National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center and the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Kimmel Center, Mann Center, and Saratoga.
How many auditions have you taken? I think about fourteen.
And what were your best results? I made finals for the NSO in 2005 and runner-up for Assistant Principal of the Louisville Orchestra in 2007.
Do you have training in another field? No, but I've taught myself how to make electronic music on my laptop. I've used a number of programs - currently Ableton Live & Logic 8. I've always been interested in production and enjoyed learning these programs. With a laptop the size of a frisbee, a microphone, and the right software, you have a complete virtual production studio and can pretty much do anything you want. One has an instant bass recording tool as well.
Have you set a timetable for yourself on the audition circuit? I am in a hurry!
What are some or your concerns? One of the toughest things for me is choosing between taking an audition and accepting a gig to pay the bills. I have issues with flying to auditions. It costs about 10 times more than driving to one, which is enough to psych me out to the point where I don't play well. I just took Louisville and it was tough to drive there. I drove with my step-dad, Charlie, straight from a gig in Baltimore, arrived at 4 AM and woke up a few hours later to audition. I find it hard to "let go" completely if I spend more than a couple of hundred dollars. If I fly and don't win, I've just lost easily $1000 or more, which is hard to absorb as a free-lancer.
It looks like you are sometimes faced with a bit of a "catch-22" situation - maybe you can't afford it, but you really can't afford not to. Focusing on your more successful attempts, to what do you attribute making the finals twice? The NSO audition success was directly linked to very intense training with Curtis Burris, and the fact that I kept five weeks clear to prepare. I literally stayed inside for five weeks - practicing, recording, listening to the rep, and marking my parts. I also did so many mock auditions that the whole thing felt very familiar.
Realizing that I can't take that much time off ever again, I've lately focused a lot of energy on trying to figure out two things. First, to find a completely comfortable way to play the bass. With the amount of playing I do gigging and auditioning, any tension at all can lead to fatigue or injury. This requires recovery time, where I'm literally trying to heal. Since time off is really not an option, finding out how my body relates to the bass is essential. I'll always be working on that, especially since I'm relatively small for the bass.
The second thing for me is to always have a plan. Without a plan, I don't know what I'm doing. My plan last summer was to work through as many of my technical issues as possible and focus on excerpts that annoy me. Those are the ones that I keep having to work up, over and over, for every audition. They always ask for them, so I have to know those ahead of time. For the Louisville audition, my plan was to practice three hours a day and take mock auditions the last week. That plan failed miserably because I was too busy gigging. My competitiveness in that one definitely was left over from the summer routine.
Colin, I led off this page by referring to you as a typical free-lancer. Well, I would like to modify that by saying you belong to a pretty elite group who have actually done well at high-level auditions. As you have taken quite a few, I'm sure you are asking yourself how you can be more consistent. Might you have done better in Louisville with six hours sleep? You'll never know, and for that matter, who sleeps soundly the night before an audition? (According to TV commercials, Holiday Inn Express might help...)
I believe if you can consistently make the finals at top orchestra auditions you will eventually win one. Unfortunately, it won't get any less competitive because a couple more talented bassists will join you each year as they graduate from conservatory. You are fortunate to live within driving distance of many major cities, so, maybe you won't have to "break the bank" flying after all. Best of luck to you and thanks for talking with me!
