- Gary Karr
Infobox musical artist
Name = Gary Karr
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Born = birth date and age|1942|11|20
flagicon|USALos Angeles, California , U.S.
Instrument =Double-bass
Genre = Classical,jazz
Occupation =Double-bassist ,pedagogue
Years_active = "ca." 1960-2001
URL = [http://www.garykarr.com/ www.GaryKarr.com]
Notable_instruments = Double-bass
"ex-Bottesini " 1716Testore
Karr-Koussevitzky" 1611Amati "Gary Karr (born November 20, 1941), is an American classical
double bass virtuoso and teacher.Biography
Although he comes from seven generations of bassists, he was not encouraged by them to go into music. In an interview with "
ActiveBass " magazine he said that he has no contact with the professional bassists in his family.cite news | url=http://activebass.com/features/item.asp?i=2 | title= Interview: Up Close And Classical with Gary Karr | publisher=ActiveBass magazine | author=Laurence Mollerup | accessdate=2007-03-12]His major teachers include Herman Reinshagen and Stuart Sankey, with whom he studied at the
Aspen Music Festival and theJuilliard School . Karr's breakthrough came in 1962, when he was featured as a soloist in a nationally televisedNew York Philharmonic Young People's Concert , conducted byLeonard Bernstein . On that famous telecast, Karr performed "The Swan " from "Carnival of the Animals " byCamille Saint-Saëns .He has published a number of instructional books for the double bass. He focuses on finding one's unique sound on the double bass and approaching one's playing with the lyrical emphasis of a singer. During a 2007 master class at the
University of Washington he encouraged the students to consider bowing closer to the bridge to enhance the quality of their sound.After 40 years as a concert artist he retired in 2001 to
Victoria, British Columbia , where he lives with his dog Shin-Ju.Foundations
In 1967, Karr founded the
International Society of Bassists (ISB), an organization devoted to the study, promotion, and advancement ofdouble bass playing around the world. The ISB, with a membership of more than 3,000double bass performers, teachers, students, and aficionados in more than 40 countries, hosts an international conference biannually to further these goals.Olga Koussevitzky, widow of
Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951), gifted to Karr the "Amati " double bass fabricated in 1611. The instrument, now bearing the name of both musicians, is referred to as the "Karr-Koussevitzky ". Karr later donated this double bass to the ISB making it available for the use of double bassists world-wide.In 1984 the non-profit
Karr Doublebass Foundation was established by Karr, which loans instruments to promising young double bassists to assist in their professional development.ee also
*
Giovanni Bottesini
*Domenico Dragonetti References
External links
*Gary Karr [http://www.garykarr.com Official website]
*International Society of Bassists [http://www.isbworldoffice.com Official website]
*Karr Doublebass Foundation [http://www.karrdbfoundation.com Official website]
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