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  • Hello, my name is David Grossman

  • and I play the bass in the New York Philharmonic.

  • Growing up in New York City

  • meant I had the best of the best

  • in terms of the arts and exposure to the arts.

  • And further, being born into an artistic family, we were always surrounded by the arts.

  • My father is a photographer and an opera singer, and my mom was also a great musician, so there

  • certainly have been huge artistic influences on me.

  • Piano was actually my first instrument, but

  • I was drawn to the bass because it's the foundation,

  • and it's also very versatile.

  • I was very into the piano and,

  • I was encouraged to try the bass because

  • bass is more social.

  • You're always alone as a pianist, and [with] the bass you have more opportunity to play in different groups,

  • jazz or classical.

  • Certainly the bass is very challenging on a number of different levels.

  • We have quite a lot of distance to travel up and down the instrument compared to a violin.

  • Also, certainly traveling with the bass itself is quite a challenge at times.

  • I started playing jazz when I was 12.

  • I was drawn to the feel of the music, the rhythmic feel.

  • As Duke Ellington said, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing."

  • I've done two recordings under my name.

  • They're called "The Bass of Both Worlds."

  • One is classical, one is jazz.

  • The classical one is all transcriptions mostly that I've done for pieces originally for other

  • instruments that I've decided to transcribe for the bass.

  • My jazz recordalso under that nameis, I had a great time recording it.

  • It's mostly originals I wrote for my jazz sextet.

  • I love yoga.

  • I'm an avid practitioner.

  • I go most days, if I can.

  • I'm very drawn to philosophy.

  • I study philosophy.

  • And I enjoy bike riding.

  • And I play the piano still, and I compose, and oh yeah, and I play jazz.

  • So I'm pretty busy.

  • I teach quite a bit.

  • I teach at the Manhattan School of Music, and next year will be teaching also at Mannes.

  • There have been so many great weeks here.

  • One thing that comes to mind is when Maazel would conduct "Petrushka" and toward the

  • end he would kind of parody or act the part

  • of the puppet, which was amazing to me because

  • the audience couldn't see that it was just for us.

  • That was a great moment and I got chills watching him do that ending as such.

  • What I love about performing in the Philharmonic is being surrounded by my colleagues,

  • who are the most incredibly talented musicians I've ever had the privilege of playing with.

  • They're constantly inspiring me to keep practicing, get better, understand more about music, and

  • I learn a lot from my colleagues.

  • Orin O'Brien has been and continues to be a wonderful mentor,

  • and she's just an inspiration

  • not only to me but to so many generations of bass players.

  • It's been a privilege to study with her and an extra privilege to sit alongside her in

  • the bass section.

  • It's a student's dream come true.

Hello, my name is David Grossman

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