Virtual Bass Ensemble

Virtual Bass Ensemble

Official page of the Virtual Bass Ensemble (VBE), created by Rob Cat.

05/10/2021

personal jam session no deartes

gostoso demais

02/11/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #16 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the sixteenth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Christie Echols from West Hartford, CT - USA.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
Christie Echols is a double bassist, electric bassist, composer, and singer specializing in contemporary music and extended technique while remaining active in the worlds of orchestral, chamber, musical theater, and jazz performance. Christie has commissioned, premiered, and written new works for double bass and voice and is passionate about new music; her performance of Caroline Louise Millerโ€™s โ€œHydra Nightingaleโ€ for solo bass was featured at the 2019 International Society of Bassists Convention. Appearing regularly as bassist with ensembles, bands, and jazz combos, Christie has performed with the Amarillo Symphony, Midland-Odessa Symphony, Jim Laughlin Quartet, Austin Brazille Jazz Trio, and Foot in the Door Ensemble. In 2016, Echols won the Ernst Bacon Memorial Prize performing Libby Larsonโ€™s โ€œFour on the Floorโ€ for piano quartet; as a member of 208 Ensemble, Echols was featured at Treefort Music Fest performing Missy Mazzoliโ€™s โ€œMagic for Everyday Objects.โ€ Echols received her Bachelor of Music in Performance from West Texas A&M University studying under Dr. Nicolas Scales. As an undergraduate she was awarded the Paul Tillotson Jazz Scholarship and the Idaho Jazz Societyโ€™s Rachael Loehr Friesen Award. As a bassist, her summer festival experience includes work with Gary Karr (Karr Kamp) and Andy Butler (Sun Valley Summer Symphony); as composer she has attended Wintergreen Summer Music Festival. She received her Master of Music from The Hartt School in May of this year and is currently working on her Artist Diploma in composition. She is a student of Robert Black and Gilda Lyons.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
2014 Upton Bass Brescian Solid Wood Flat Back, Travel Neck with C extension. Samuel Kolstein French Bow, Pernambuco.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
Follow me on instagram () to view my improvisation videos. Additionally, I have been working with the Itty Bitty Bassist Committee () to bring awareness to bass players of all body sizes. I am also proud to be apart of the Virtual Bass Ensemble team by running the composition side of our ensemble.

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

26/10/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #15 ๐Ÿ’ฌ
Welcome to the fifteenth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Al Davis from Jacksonville, FL - USA.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
Started in 2013, got serious around 2017.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I use a French bow; I can't see the tag inside the bass though...

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
Scales and shifts, fundamentals with etudes. I'm not "grown up" enough for the other stuff, lol.

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

12/10/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #14 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the fourteenth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Kirby Karpan from Juneau, AK - USA.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
I've been playing the bass for 14 years, since fifth grade when my school orchestra started up. My favorite animal was a whale, and I (rightly) figured that the bass was the coolest instrument since it looked like it could make some sweet whale noises.

Since then, music has been an important hobby and something that I can fall back onto for comfort. I played in community orchestras in small-town Minnesota, and then kept playing at DePaul University in Chicago, and now I'm a thankful member of the Juneau Symphony here in Alaska. Although I didn't make music my career, it is still a very important part of my life and a welcome recluse.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I use a carved Chinese Shen bass and a nameless, but very swell, French bow.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
Not related to music, but I've been studying physics in my ample pandemic free-time. Something fun to keep my mind occupied and learn more about the nature of space and time.

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

07/10/2020

Elgar - Elegy, Op. 58

Arr. David Heyes

05/10/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #13 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the thirteenth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Roos Sadraee from Utrecht - The Netherlands.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
It was open house at the music school in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Me and my mom were walking past kids trying all kinds of instruments, I was interested in none of them. Until I saw the cello. I was in love! I played the cello for 4 years, but when I became 11 I asked my mom if I could play double bass. I am the fourth bassist in the family, I've been playing it for 12 years now, and I just learned the reason why I didn't choose the bass at that day. The bass teacher wasn't there!

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I use a very simple bass, still my first! The bow I use is a bow that I kinda stole from my youth orchestra (shhh that's a secret).

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
I'm not in quarantine, so my project is in real life, lucky me! We are playing Mahler the 4th, it's amazing to play again ๐Ÿ™‚

๐Ÿ“ท: Kaka Lee

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

14/09/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #12 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the twelfth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!
Today we have Kai Jack from Jerusalem, Israel.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
I wanted to impress a girl when I was 16 so I started taking guitar lessons. Little did I know that my guitar teacher was actually a double bassist and was planning to recruit me to a local youth orchestra that he conducted in rural Norway. The day after he gave me my first bass lesson I forgot about the guitar and I forgot about the girl I wanted to impress. I have been playing for about 10 years now. When I was 18 I attended a one year pre-college music year at Ingesunds Folkhรถgskola in Sweden. Later on I did my classical performance Bachelor's degree in Gothenburg Sweden, did an Erasmus exchange in Italy, and I am now doing a contemporary performance Master's degree in Jerusalem, Israel. I love playing in orchestra, solos, chamber music (particularly contemporary works!) but my biggest passion is teaching. This passion was ignited when I got to work with an El Sistema-style orchestra in Gothenburg focused on teaching music to refugee youth. I experienced how music could actually CHANGE a human being's life! Through this same experience I found an excitement for music that I had been missing previously. Now my goal is to start an El Sistema inspired youth orchestra here in Jerusalem where I live.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I play on an 8 year old Chinese bass I bought in Oslo, Norway that sounds better and better every year, or maybe I'm the one improving... My bow says A. Eastman on the stick. I got it from Bob's House of Bass in Washington DC.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
Gathering local bassists to make online videos like this one. Basically a mini VBE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npaA_xMeLxE&list=PL_scYtCoDAaLDZr3txsigVRPGxHIZxJfG&index=5&t=0s

07/09/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #11 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the eleventh feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!
Today we have Yoshi Horiguchi from Baltimore, MD - USA.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
Iโ€™ve been playing for 19 years. I started in my middle school orchestra and jazz band programs and finally got my own bass to practice with at home and private lessons in 10th grade. I auditioned for MD all state orchestra in 11th grade, got 1st chair, and got a scholarship to go to college despite living below the poverty line and having family/foster care issues during that time. Bass got me through the tough times and I'm grateful to live the life I'm living!

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I have 2 basses: Josephine is a 2004 Eastman v605 model bass and Robert is a 2014 bass made by Tom Wolf.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
I've been doing Livestream recitals a lot on FB and IG (). I've also done a lot of arranging for my students and have taken part in numerous quarantine recording projects.

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

31/08/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #10 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the tenth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!
Today we have Gabriel Monticello from Atlanta GA - USA.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
I started playing the upright bass in 1995. I had played bass guitar for a few years and was in a progressive rock band. The guitar teacher at Valdosta State University had heard us and convinced our guitarist to enrol. Watching his rapid progression, I knew that this was the step I needed to take. I had one problem. I didn't read music or play the upright bass. I bought a beat up used bass and proceeded to learn as much as I could. My audition can best be described as a comedy of errors. Fortunately, VSU had to pad the rolls and allowed me in on a probationary status. "Understand that we reserve the right to kick you out at any time, and we probably will" the department head informed me. "That's alright", I replied, "If you kick me out after six months, I will be six months better than I am today". I refused to let them kick me out.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I own a Kolstein Fendt double bass which I named Frank. The maker of my bow is unknown. I bought it because I love the way it feels in my hand. It is a German style bow and has a treble clef inlay on the frog.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
Where do I start? I revamped my webpage www.GabrielMonticello.com . I have recorded two albums worth of material for the Russian rock band, space mirrors https://www.facebook.com/SpaceMirrors as well as finished production on one album and started recording a second album for the US and UK based rock band Bridget Wishart and the Band Of Doctors. https://www.facebook.com/BandOfDoctors

I have also done some video recording for the Savannah Philharmonic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHXg-tKGvA8 and several for the Virtual Bass Ensemble. I continue to teach virtual lessons and The Atlanta Chamber Music Festival ran a virtual camp this year. http://www.atlantachambermusicfestival.com

On a non-musical level, my wife and I adopted a special needs dog, a German Shepherd mix named Amelia. I also am working on a halloween yard display that will be quite impressive ๐Ÿ˜‰ Even when things "slow down", there are simply not enough hours in the day.

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

24/08/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #9 ๐Ÿ’ฌ
Welcome to the ninth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Alden Cohen from Oakland, CA - USA.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
Iโ€™ve been playing the double bass for 22 years. My musical career in the SF Bay Area started after advancing to the finals for the San Francisco Symphony Double Bass Substitute List auditions in 2003 and 2005.
Auditions Iโ€™ve won and currently hold contract positions with are: Santa Cruz Symphony (Principal) Oakland Symphony (Assistant Principal) Berkeley Symphony Monterey Symphony.
My passion for playing music started with wanting to learn the soundtrack music to movies I grew up watching. Iโ€™ve had the pleasure of recording top leading video games, performing in the Game of Thrones tour, performing live Orchestra and Film shows as well as on stage with major bands like โ€œThe Who.โ€

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I play an unmarked early 1900โ€™s Italian Bass and a 2000 Reid Hudson Bow.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
Iโ€™ve created many arrangements of pop, video game, movie and classical music for two Basses. My most recent video is the Theme to Legend of Zelda - https://youtu.be/E2JGlsmBItk
โ€‹
Photo by Kevin Monahan

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

17/08/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #8 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the eighth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Andy Bloor from Derby, UK.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
I started playing at around 8 years old when the school music teacher held up a bass in assembly and asked who would like a go at learning it. I said I quite liked the look of it and the rest is history. I studied Music at University, but now work as an academic and only play as an amateur. Iโ€™m lucky enough to play with a phenomenal local amateur orchestra (Nottingham Philharmonic) and am constantly amazed they let me in!

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
My bass is a factory made German bass from around 1870. I use the French style of bow and had it locally made when I lived in Kent in the south east of England.
โ€‹
๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
I worked on the Dvorak project (and thank whomever has the task of editing it. I only hope they had auto-tune!)

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

12/08/2020

Lucien Legrand - Express 113

All aboard!!

Please like and share!

10/08/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #7 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the seventh feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Marรญa Inรฉs Rojas from Valencia - Spain.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I started my double bass studies specialising in tango music. Working for tango shows, I got the blessed chance to see the world pretty much all around, and decided to settle in Valencia. I have also specialised in children education and Suzuki Method and nowadays I mostly focus in teaching little children to play the bass and enjoy the ride of looking for the best version of themselves.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I use French bow, still use my student bass and also my lovely Jorge and Thomas Martin Concerto Bass.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
I've done an online course about Soundcool which is platform made for collaborating projects which I hope to be able to use with my students. This was my practice with the platform, a little composition of my own, based on a text written by J.J. Benitez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf97wnMKYJw&t=24s

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

Timeline photos 07/08/2020

Be like Bill!

๐Ÿ˜‚

03/08/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #6 ๐Ÿ’ฌ
Welcome to the sixth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Tal Good from Massachusetts - USA.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
I started bass guitar 22 years ago. I always wanted an upright, but never got one until after college.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I have two German plywoods from the 40s and 50s, which I lovingly named Old Stinky and Frankenbass' Monster. I also have a Kay bass from the 1930s that someone painted black, named Morticia. A couple German bows.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
A pirate/Irish band I'm in is doing videos for a digital renaissance fairs. We are calling ourselves the Roving Corsairs. And a friend of mine and me started dressing up and doing videos of songs from video games, cartoons, and shows we like. We call that group Grizzly Bunny.

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

Timeline photos 31/07/2020

Just don't do it.

Happy !! Have you checked out our latest videos?!

29/07/2020

All About That Bass
Arr. Yoshi Horiguchi

We're all about that bass here at the VBE

24/07/2020

You don't have to worry about too much Treble here!

22/07/2020

Erik Satie - Gnossiennes No. 1

This work is part of a collection of piano compositions by Satie. The word Gnossiennes was invented to describe a "new" form of composition, free from standard/formal conventions such as time/beat division, chordal structure, and rhythm. These types of particularities are not easily captured within the "virtual" purview of our VBE project.

Please like and share!!

20/07/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #5 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the fifth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Jakob Grรผter from The Hague - The Netherlands.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
Exactly 10 years now. I am not a professional bass player. Playing bass is for me something I do with great love and passion, especially playing in orchestras, still it is a hobby, at the end. I got first attracted to the bass when the orchestra at my High School was looking for a new bass player, offering lessons, too. However, I could not convince my parents. A few months later I was playing with a chamber orchestra in concert - my second/first instrument is the flute. Afterwards the orchestra came together for celebrating the concerts we had played. The wife of our principle violinist told us that she found it a lovely concert but missed the deep sounds - the orchestra had noone playing bass. On the way home I discussed it again with my mother - a few weeks later I had my first lesson. I only had a few weeks of lesson when I was first asked by an orchestra to join - not even half a year after my first lesson I played the first time in concert with the bass. It was a catastrophe, at least from my perspective. However, playing bass developed to a very big passion. 3 years later I had my first concert with a big symphonic orchestra playing Mahler 4th symphonie - I had a hard fight maintaining the quality required in this orchestra. During my studies I intensified playing on the bass and switched to a 5-string bass. And playing in symphonic orchestra developed to a central part of my life.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I play a 5 string bass from Rubner about 60 years old. It is a 4/4 bass, about 2m from pin to top. I gave him a name, too: Elias. I have two bows, one from Egidius Dรถrflein, the other is a Pfretzschner bow. Both are German bows, I also use the german way of holding the bow

๐Ÿ“ท: Veerlebas Photography

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

Photos from Virtual Bass Ensemble's post 16/07/2020

Unfortunately no new videos today in anticipation of our next large project! Instead, we'd like to take a moment to thank our VBE Staff Team, who have worked diligently over the last few weeks to keep our project growing and operating smoothly! Without their help, we wouldn't be on our way to executing a new project of over 150 bassists!

13/07/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the fourth feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Lewis Braham - Double Bassist and Teacher from Basildon, Essex - UK.

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
I have been playing the double bass for eleven years now, originally starting as a violinist at the age of six. I studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Tony Hougham, the Principal Double Bass of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. I have performed with the English National Ballet Philharmonic, London Concert Orchestra, Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilderness Orchestra, Kaleidoscope Orchestra, Aurelian Symphony Orchestra and been a backing Musician on the X Factor. Venues I have performed in include the Royal Albert Hall, London Coliseum, Barbican Centre, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Cadogan Hall, Latitude Festival, Wilderness Festival, and the 02 Arena. I was selected to record the Double Bass backing tracks for the ABRSMโ€™s new Initial Double Bass Exam Pack for 2020 โ€“ 2023 which was is designed to help beginners measure their progress and celebrate their achievements. As well as performing I hold many teaching posts around the country including; Visiting Teacher of Double Bass at the Stephen P***e Foundation in Cambridge, Visiting Teacher of Double Bass at St Johnโ€™s College School in Cambridge, Visiting Teacher of Double Bass at Brentwood Senior and Prep Schools, Double Bass Tutor for Saffron Centre for Young Musicians, Instrumental Teacher for Thurrock Music Services and I also teach privately. I also conduct various orchestras and string orchestras including Thurrock Youth Orchestra, Thurrock Youth Training Orchestra, Thurrock Beginner Strings, SCYM Intermediate Strings and SCYM Junior Strings.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I own a full size Hungarian double bass which I purchased from a colleague Ken Knussen, he used it as his second bass for many years. It is an amazing deep rich sound and I am very lucky to own such a beautiful instruments. I am very lucky to own a beautiful Reid Hudson bow.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
I have been recording with the Kaleidoscope Orchestra during lockdown and as many other lockdown orchestra projects as I can to keep me playing. I also have been recording the ABRSM double bass exam pieces with an adult student who has kindly recorded all the piano parts for me.

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

Timeline photos 10/07/2020

Ouch!! Money is tight for everyone right now ๐Ÿ˜” but you don't have to be sad when you join the VBE!!

08/07/2020

Andres Martin - Sempre Avanti

Originally composed for Bass2018 Lucca.

Remember to like and share!!

06/07/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the third feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Next up is Severiano Paoli from Groningen, The Netherlands:

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
I've been playing music for 23 years, and double bass for 13. I started playing guitar when I was 7, and took a double bass in my hands when I was 17, when I went to the conservatorium in Lucca. Later on I started playing early music on original instruments, and became a professional baroque player.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
Double bass in fourths with gut strings, bass in Viennese tuning and G Violone. I've got a bunch of historical bows, among which my favourite now my clip-in Dragonetti bow, which I use for most musical genres.

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

02/07/2020

The Virtual Bass Ensemble - Game of Thrones Theme

Arr. Yoshi Horiguchi

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die"

Timeline photos 30/06/2020

It's the last day to apply for our next project: Dvorak No.9 "Largo"

Check out our page for more information!!

29/06/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the second feature of our VBE Member Monday, where each week we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

Today we have Michele Strong from Northern Ireland!

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
I was born and grew up in Australia where I started playing the cello in primary school, mainly because both my parents were professional cellists, but I gradually started to notice the bass and that it looked like much more fun than the cello, so when I left school I changed to the bass and soon found out that I was right! After a couple of yearsโ€™ studying in Sydney I got a scholarship to study in London and ended up staying in the UK... eventually getting a job in the Ulster Orchestra, Belfast!

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
A very ordinary old German instrument and unremarkable french bow!

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
Iโ€™ve been making a few videos (along with others from the orchestra) for the pupils at some local primary schools where we were teaching before the quarantine. Also doing quite a bit of online teaching.

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

Timeline photos 26/06/2020

You can drink at home when you join the VBE!

25/06/2020

Anybody know this one??

23/06/2020

Our first VBE Small Project!! Remember to like and share!

22/06/2020

๐—ฉ๐—•๐—˜ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† #1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ

Welcome to the first edition of our VBE Member Monday where each week, we will introduce a member of the VBE family to you!

First up is Naj Qureshi from Ashburn, VA:

๐Ÿ’ฌ How long have you been playing? Tell us about how you got started/your background in playing.
I have been playing for 27 years. I started off on violin, but was terrible at it. I had huge hands even as a kid. I was ready to quit music all together when my orchestra teacher suggest I try the bass, and that it could be a better fit. I instantly fell in love and within 2 years I was holding my own with seniors in high school! I studied with Jim Donahue before college. I majored in Bass performance at Shenandoah, studying with Bill Hones. I went away from music for a while to get a job, but picked it back up and took off running! Been studying with Paul DeNola to get my chops back. I also decided to start Ottava Imports, importing modern Italian Instruments for sale in the US.

๐Ÿ’ฌ What kind of bass/basses and bows do you use?
I have a house full of basses that I get to play with all the time! My personal instrument is personally commissioned Luciano Golia Bass (2017) Named "Il Guisto". I also have a German Bow from Juliano Oliveira.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Do you have a quarantine project you are working on?
Lots of practicing is being done during quarantine! I have put out a few Quartets that I recorded myself and was lucky enough to have Rob put them together for me!

You can find all our member profiles on our website as they get featured at www.virtualbassensemble.com/ensemble

The Virtual Bass Ensemble - Joshua Fought the Battle at Jericho (arr. Inez Wyrick) 18/06/2020

This is VBE's debut video, our version of Joshua Fought the Battle at Jericho arranged for bass ensemble by Inez Wyrick.

Thank you all for watching!
And don't forget to like and share ๐Ÿ˜‰

Stay tuned for more projects coming soon!

Follow us on Instagram too: https://www.instagram.com/virtualbassensemble/

The Virtual Bass Ensemble - Joshua Fought the Battle at Jericho (arr. Inez Wyrick) Bass 1: Rob Catinella Ximo Clemente Henri Gross Andres Martin Rodrigo Mata Gaelen McCormick Maria Teresa-Moline Gabriel Monticello Eric Snoza Matteo Zabadneh...

HOME | Virtual Bass Ensemble 15/06/2020

Welcome to our page!

Our story:

Beginning in March 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis, Rob Cat created The Virtual Bass Ensemble (VBE) as a means of uniting bass players. Bassists from around the world came together to record their own parts in their homes, before sending their video to contribute to a final product that was mixed together!

Here's our first project:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toTRCgFkZ_0

Take a look at our website: https://www.virtualbassensemble.com/

or

Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virtualbassensemble/

HOME | Virtual Bass Ensemble Beginning in March 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis, Rob Cat created The Virtual Bass Ensemble (VBE) as a means ofย uniting bass players. Bassists from around the world came together to record their own parts in their homes, before sending their video to contribute to a final product that was mixed t...

Videos (show all)

All About That BassArr. Yoshi HoriguchiWe're all about that bass here at the VBE
Andres Martin - Sempre Avanti
Tony Osborne - All in a Day's Work