The course covers many aspects of professional musicianship including audition preparation, self-promotion, posture/injury prevention and performing with an orchestra

South African Youth Orchestra double bass section

South African National Youth Orchestra’s double bass section 2018
Photo: Shaun Keyser

The South African National Youth Orchestra is hosting its first ever course exclusively for the Double Bass. The course, which forms part of the ensemble’s ‘What it Takes’ series focusing on careers in a variety of instruments, runs from 9th - 12th December in Cape Town.

Like other events in the series, the course covers many aspects of professional musicianship including audition preparation, self-promotion, posture/injury prevention and performing with an orchestra. 

It offers individual master classes from top professionals and gives insight into solo, chamber and orchestral playing as well as teaching and other career options. The organisers also strive to ensure that newcomers to the bass, especially children, are included in concert audiences. 

The faculty includes Roxane Steffen (principal bass at the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra), Nick Scales (School of Music at West Texas A&M University), and Jeff Bradetich and Gudrun Raschen (University of North Texas College of Music) and Leon Bosch (soloist, conductor and long time member of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble), who has commissioned around two dozen new pieces for double bass to fill the gap in resources for South African double bassists.