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The Hartt School

Double Bass

At a Glance

When you study double bass at The Hartt School, you will be a part of a comprehensive program, which gives you the resources and skills necessary to succeed as a professional bassist in the competitive musical world.

Full Time

Degrees Offered

Bachelor of Music

Master of Music

Doctor of Musical Arts

Artist Diploma

Overview

At The Hartt School, you will join a tight-knit community of artists who are perfecting their craft. Through personal attention and mentorship from Hartt’s accomplished faculty members, you will develop innovative ideas and career ready skills. Learn about the double bass program at Hartt, including undergraduate and graduate admission and audition requirements and faculty information.

The Double Bass Studio

Performance Opportunities

Numerous opportunities throughout the year gives you the chance to implement the skills learned in class and in practice room:

  • Bass Band
  • Double Bass Studio Recital
  • Weekly Studio Master Classes
  • Mock Orchestra Auditions

 

Double bass activities include:

  • Weekly private lessons (technical and musical development of traditional and contemporary techniques and repertoire, and orchestral music)
  • Orchestra Repertoire Class (excerpts and the audition process)
  • Scales/Technique Class (compliments the work done in private lessons on achieving technical mastery)
  • Repertoire Class (explores all aspects of the double bass literature and history, by listening to recordings, looking at scores, and discussing various topics)

Admission and Audition Requirements

Please see specific instrument audition requirements by degree below. Learn more about the undergraduate or graduate application process, in-person audition dates, and deadlines.

Bachelor of Music

  • Two contrasting works (can include movements from sonatas or concerti)
  • One étude (technical study) or standard orchestral excerpt

It is strongly recommended that at least one selection be performed from memory.

Suggested Repertoire:

  • Baroque sonatas (e.g., Marcello, Vivaldi, Scarlatti) or J.S. Bach cello suites
  • Concerti (e.g., Capuzzi [F major], Pichl, Dragonetti, Cimador)
  • Études (e.g., Simandl, Storch-Hrabe, Slama, Hrabe, Kreutzer, etc.)

Please note: We have students who come to Hartt from across the United States and around the world. That is one of the things that makes a Hartt education so special. Some students are accepted and arrive having had extensive private study on their instruments. Others have had less experience (and perhaps less conventional training), but their natural abilities and great love of music allow them to make remarkable strides in a short period of time because of the expertise of our faculty.

Our requirements are sometimes quite specific to give applicants a sense of where they should be to enter a high-level conservatory environment. However, we encourage applicants to reach out to our faculty members to discuss audition repertoire. It may be that what you have prepared will suffice. Our primary goal is to identify potential, and if we feel that the potential is there, it is then our responsibility to provide each and every student with the tools to be successful.

If you would like to be in touch with a member of the faculty to discuss your audition repertoire, please write to harttadm@hartford.edu.

Master of Music & Graduate Professional Diploma

All MM or GPD string applicants must audition with piano accompaniment for at least one work. If you require an accompanist for your audition, you may bring your own or request a Hartt accompanist. There is a $50 fee for a Hartt accompanist, which includes the audition and one 30-minute rehearsal (on the day of the audition). If you require an accompanist, you must notify Hartt Admissions at least three (3) weeks prior to your audition. Be sure to include your name, contact information, instrument, warm-up and audition times, and repertoire that requires accompaniment.

  • Two selections should be played from memory
  • One unaccompanied work or movement (from any period)
  • Two other works or movements in contrasting styles (One of the above selections must be a 20th or 21st century work.)
  • Three standard orchestra excerpts

Doctor of Musical Arts & Artist Diploma

All DMA and AD candidates must audition with piano accompaniment where appropriate. If you require an accompanist for your audition, you may bring your own or request a Hartt accompanist. There is a $50 fee for a Hartt accompanist, which includes the audition and one 30-minute rehearsal (on the day of the audition). If you require an accompanist, you must notify Hartt Admissions at least three (3) weeks prior to your audition. Be sure to include your name, contact information, instrument, warm-up and audition times, and repertoire that requires accompaniment.

  • Two selections should be played from memory

  • A complete concerto (from memory)

  • Two contrasting movements of unaccompanied Bach OR a substantial 20th or 21st century unaccompanied work.

  • One or two movements from a sonata OR a showpiece (the showpiece to be played from memory) One of the above selections must be a 20th or 21st century work.)

  • Five standard orchestra excerpts - (a list will be provided upon request)

Our Faculty

Lizzie Burns

Double Bass Faculty Member

Musician & Teaching Artist Lizzie Burns is a sought after and experienced bassist who performs regularly in Chamber Orchestras, Continuo Sections, Rhythm Sections, New Music Ensembles. She has recorded for major Motion Picture Soundtracks and Record Labels, given dozens of World Premieres, is a member of The Knights and A Far Cry, and is on faculty at the Hartt School of Music and the Mannes Conservatory at The New School.

Lizzie draws abundant inspiration from her colleagues and feels fortunate to work with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, New Century Chamber Orchestra, New Orchestra of Washington, New York City Ballet Orchestra, The Knights, and A Far Cry. As an experienced historical bassist she has performed with the Handel and Haydn Society and Teatro Neuovo. She is energized by collaborations with composers and has premiered compositions by Julia Wolfe, Caroline Shaw, Pauline Oliveros, Andy Akihio, and J örg Widmann among many others. Burns played on Broadway alongside Josh Groban in “Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812” as well as the American Repertory Theater’s productions of “Great Comet'' and “Moby Dick”. She has played on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and has performed with and recorded for Jon Batiste. She has recorded for the Sony Masterworks, Naxos, and Nonesuch record labels and can be heard on the soundtracks of popular motion pictures including the HBO series “Succession.”

As an alum of Ensemble Connect, a rigorous two-year fellowship program based at Carnegie Hall , Lizzie is an experienced Teaching Artist who equally enjoys engaging with audiences from the stage of Carnegie Hall as she does performing in homeless shelters, for incarcerated communities and working with public school students in the Bronx.

Lizzie attended the New England Conservatory and Boston University. Her primary teachers are Don Palma and Ed Barker, to whom she is eternally grateful.

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