The bass player first appeared as a soloist with the orchestra in 1987, becoming principal double bass in 2006

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Joel Quarrington © Fred Cattroll

Joel Quarrington has retired from the Ottawa-based National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Quarrington has enjoyed a prolific career as a principal bass player, with previous roles in the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and a one-year stint in the London Symphony Orchestra from 2013-14.

He continues to teach at the University of Ottawa and is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He plays a 1630 Giovanni Paolo Maggini bass tuned in fifths, as opposed to the conventional practice of playing in fourths.

Here is a video of Quarrington performing the Prelude from Bach’s Solo Violin Partita no.3 BWV1006:

Watch: Joel Quarrington plays Bach’s Sixth Cello Suite on double bass

Watch: Double bassist Joel Quarrington performs Bottesini