Meet our Double Bass Fest Clinicians
Daniel Carson is a current member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra after previously holding the position of principal bass at the Alabama Symphony Orchestra from 2013-16, and having performed with numerous other American orchestras, including those in Atlanta, St. Louis, Minnesota and Kansas City.
Carson was a fellow at the New World Symphony, under the direction of co-founder and Artistic Director Laureate Michael Tilson-Thomas and has also been a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Music Academy of the West, and the Tanglewood Music Center. Originally from Glenview, Illinois, Carson studied double bass with Andrew Anderson, a member of Lyric Opera of Chicago and Grant Park orchestras. He was a member of the youth music program Midwest Young Artists Conservatory throughout high school.
Carson earned a Bachelor’s degree in performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied with Lawrence Hurst and Bruce Bransby. Later he earned a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California, studying with David Allen Moore of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
David Murray, Professor of Bass at Butler University, has an international reputation as a solo bassist and teacher. He is principal bassist of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and the Bear Valley Music Festival orchestra (summer). He won the 1980 Aspen Concerto Competition and the 1988 International Society of Bassists (ISB) Solo Competition, the first prize being a solo debut at Carnegie Hall. He is a past president of the ISB, and hosted the 2001 ISB Convention at Butler University. David has performed as soloist and given clinics and masterclasses throughout the United States, Canada, South Korea, Brazil, Israel, and Europe. He has recorded 3 solo CDs and a DVD. In June 2017 he was the recipient of the ISB Special Recognition Award for Solo Performance. In June 2018 he became Director of the School of Music at Butler University. In August 2024 he received the Distinguished Faculty Award from Butler University. In January 2026 David received the Studio Teacher Award from the Indiana Chapter of the American String Teachers Association.
Eric Snoza is a renowned recording artist working in the film and video game industry, as well as a touring chamber musician, soloist, and teaching artist. He received his Bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music, studying solo performance with one of the world’s leading double bass performers, James VanDemark, and has performed with many leading new music ensembles including Musica Nova, Ensemble X, and Chicago’s Fifth House Ensemble. Eric has collaborated and performed with ensembles and artists from around the world, including the Mediterranean folk band Baladino, Tuvan throat-singing group Alash, bluegrass band The Henhouse Prowlers, classical guitar solo performing artist Jason Vieaux, violin soloist Robert McDuffie, and REM’s Mike Mills.
As a bassist with Fifth House ensemble, he has toured around the world working on exciting collaborative performances including Black Violet - an original three-part graphic novel live performance experience and SONY/thatgamecompany’s Journey LIVE Tour - a first-of-its-kind live and interactive video game performance. Eric also travels to universities and conservatories around the country, including Curtis, Indiana University, DePaul University, and Eastman School of Music presenting courses in Arts Entrepreneurship, Arts Education, as well as solo and chamber bass performance. His solo accomplishments include the Rochester début of the Eduard Tubin Double Bass Concerto and his world premiere transcription of the Elgar Cello Concerto for Double Bass led by Rochester Philharmonic Pops Conductor, Jeff Tyzik.
He is currently working on two video game releases for RIOT Games League of Legends, Giant Squid’s The Pathless, and the release of his new YouTube video series, Home Studio Sessions, where he will be releasing new bass orchestra arrangements, as well as in-depth tutorials in photography, videography, and audio design tutorials.
Acclaimed for his musicality and virtuosity, Volkan Orhon has established himself as one of the top double bassists in the world today. He was a finalist and prizewinner in the Concert Artists Guild Solo Competition in New York City, and was the co-first place winner of the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. Additionally, he distinguished himself as the first double bass player ever to win the grand prize overall and first prize for double bass at the American String Teacher's Association Solo Competition.
Orhon has performed with internationally recognized musicians including Gary Karr, Fazil Say, JACK, the Emerson and Tokyo String Quartets, and has performed recitals as a soloist with orchestras around the world including the Bursa State Conservatory and Eskisehir Anatolian University (Turkey), Paris Conservatory, Norwegian Academy of Music, Arizona State University, University of Michigan, Butler University, Northwestern University and North Carolina School of the Arts.
As an orchestra musician, he served as principal bass in the Orchestra Iowa and performed with the Detroit Symphony, Hartford Symphony and Connecticut Opera Orchestras. Orhon has recorded CDs under the Albany, Centaur, and Crystal Records labels. Most recently he recorded the Double Bass Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, a work written for him by composer David Gompper.
As a pedagogue, Orhon has been an invited clinician to workshops across the United States and abroad, including European double bass conferences Bass2018 LUCCA, Bass Bass2010 Berlin, Bass2008 Paris, Ouro Branco Festival in Brazil, Suzuki Association of the Americas, American String Teachers Association and the International Society of Bassists.
Born and raised in Turkey and spent much of his youth touring Europe. After graduating from the Ankara State Conservatory under the tutelage of Tahir Sumer, he became a member of the Ankara Presidential Symphony Orchestra. Orhon came to the United States to continue his studies with Gary Karr. Orhon is currently professor of double bass at the University of Iowa.
Mark Urness is a versatile bassist, composer, and educator. His diverse performance experience encompasses orchestral, chamber, solo, jazz playing. He is an associate professor of music at Lawrence University in Appleton Wisconsin and the principal bassist of the Weidner Center Philharmonic Orchestra. His playing on the unaccompanied jazz album, Foreground, was described by Bass World magazine as “completely in command of the instrument and the tunes, rife with good ideas, melodic instinct, and groove.” Recent performances include Chamber music broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio, Concerto performances as guest soloist with the Fox Valley Youth Orchestra, a Solo Recital at the 2018 ISB convention, and jazz performances with Bill Carrothers, Danilo Perez, Peter Erskine, and Joe Locke.
Prior to his appointment to the faculty of Lawrence University, Mr. Urness taught at the University of Iowa, Coe College, and the University of Northern Iowa and was principal bassist of the Cedar Rapids Symphony. In 1999 he was awarded first prize in the ISB Jazz Bass competition. He received a Master of Music in double bass performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a Bachelor of Arts in music from the University of Northern Iowa, and studied music and computer science at the University of Iowa.