On MYAC’s 2026 Chicago Double Bass Fest
Midwest Young Artists Conservatory has a decades-running annual Double Bass Festival, an event which has become Chicagoland’s premier example in a wider tradition of bass-focused gatherings. On Sunday, February 22nd, we held our Chicago Double Bass Festival at MYAC center in Highwood, Illinois. The clinicians’ biographies and the schedule are here. We regret that Professor Urness was unable to attend. We thank sincerely our clinicians who made the day so inspiring: Daniel Carson (Chicago Symphony Orchestra); Vulkan Orhon (University of Iowa); David Murray (Butler University); Mark Urness (Lawrence University); Eric Snoza; Kevin Snyder. We thank also Sonksen Strings and A440, two luthiers and vendors of string instruments who shared expertise and advice with the students. Thanks to MYAC faculty pianist Michael Tan, who provided collaborative piano assistance. And thank you to all the students (and their teachers and parents!) who devoted a day to their great instrument.
This author is a violinist, not a bassist, and from my outside perspective I have observed something remarkable about bassists. While violin technique has become somewhat standardized–there emerging a handful of technical approaches and fingering patterns, repertoire sequence, etc.--mainstream bass-playing is much more open-ended. The instruments themselves vary in size and design; there is a great variety of bow holds, of tunings, of fingering choices; Bassists have found an endless array of things to do with their instrument. The traditional functions of the bass, in the orchestra and in the jazz band, depend strongly upon communal music-making; so when bass players pursue their individual interests, they do so with great freedom.
I think that it is this freedom and community among bassists which makes their festivals so successful, as they share all of their individual preferences, discoveries, and enthusiasm.
The festival ended with a recital by students and clinicians, whose diversity of programming shows exactly this point. We heard: a movement from Fazil Say’s “Four Cities” sonata, performed by bassist Vulkan Orhon who is a personal friend and classmate of the composer; movements of Frank Proto’s jazzy approach to making his own Carmen Fantasy for bass, performed by bassist David Murray; the first movement the Elgar cello concerto, performed by Eric Snoza who adapted the work very faithfully and therefore stretched the capabilities of the bass. Murray, Orhon, and Dan Carson gave an impromptu performance of a trio of James Hook; and finally, Mr. Murray led all participants in a massive bass choir.
Four hours of workshops preceded this recital; during each hour students could choose between a masterclass and a workshop, the workshops giving practical training and advice, the masterclasses addressing the individual concerns, questions, and playing of each performer. Walking through the halls made one privy to a spectacular array of advice: how to make best use of harmonics, how to shape rhythm in Bach, how to practice Ein Heldenleben for an audition, intonation and resonance, spiccato in Beethoven 5; thoughts on scales, posture, rosin, strings, rehearsals, vibrato…. Advanced students met potential university professors, beginning bassists worked to find the confidence to play in front of their colleagues; there was a constant hum of low strings.
MYAC’s founder and director, Dr. Allan Dennis, is himself a bassist, and the organization has long been recognized as a center of youth bass playing, a number of our bass alumni playing now in great orchestras. Mr. Carson is no exception; he and his CSO colleague, Ian Hallas, are both MYAC alumni. I was especially touched to see several students asking the clinicians to sign their rosin boxes, in a gesture of gratitude and admiration.
We already look forward to next year’s festival, this one having ended on such a high note–oh, forgive me, bassists–on such a low note.
Written by Christopher Gottardi-Littell
MYAC is a full-curriculum, pre-college music school based in Highwood, Il, and one of the nation’s premier youth ensemble programs. Our graduates are accepted into the most selective conservatories, universities, and colleges in the country. MYAC serves annually over 900 students, grades K-12, from more than 74 communities all over Chicagoland and beyond, who participate in festivals, competitions, and weekly rehearsals among our five orchestras, three jazz big bands, three choirs, over 40 chamber ensembles, six jazz combos, theory and composition classes, and masterclasses presented by our distinguished faculty and by renowned guests. Our mission: building a home with the power of music to enrich the lives of our students and community.
See here for information on auditions, which begin March 23rd.