For the first Musical Rendez-vous of the season, Will Cravy, double bassist in residence, presents a concert on Thursday September 7th at 7:30 pm. A recipient of the Harriet Hale Woolley scholarship for the 2016-2017 academic year, Will Cravy has had the chance to work with François Rabbath, the famous soloist and pedagogue who brought the bass into the spotlight in the 20th century. Accompanied by Orlando Bass, Will Cravy will present a recital of pieces with special focus on works composed in Paris.
Program
François Rabbath (1931-)
L’Infinie Martine
Le Mi dans le mille
Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889)
Double Bass Concerto No.2 in A minor
François Rabbath (1931-)
Le Cri de Venise
Concerto No. 3
Breiz
Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1779)
Double Bass Concerto No. 2 in D major
I. Allegro Moderato
François Rabbath (1931-)
Samir
Chasse à courre
About the Musicians
A native of Colorado, William McClain Cravy graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Southern California where he was a recipient of a Presidential Scholarship, three Provost’s Research Fellowships, and the String and Orchestral Awards for Outstanding Graduate. Will is a tenured member of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra where he has been acting principal bass for the last year. He has appeared as an orchestral musician with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (UK), the New World Symphony in Miami, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the Juneau Symphony, as principal bass of Aspen Opera under Robert Spano, and alongside his teacher in the Aspen Chamber Orchestra. His time with NACO included a tour of the UK and a personal audience with His Royal Highness Prince Charles. As a soloist he was awarded 2nd place in both the 2015 Aspen Music Festival Low Strings Competition and the 2015 Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition (LA Phil judged), 3rd place in 2016 the Jefferson International Young Artists Competition and was a finalist in the 2016 Young Musicians Foundation Debut Concerto Competition. Will has played concertos with the Colorado Symphony, the Culver City Symphony, numerous youth orchestras in Colorado and California, and was featured in a 2015 Aspen Music Festival Student-Spotlight Recital. A past member of the Colorado Young Musician’s Foundation Roster, he received the 2009 Jeff Bradley Colorado Young Musician Award. His primary teachers include David Allen Moore, Susan Cahill and Ken Harper, and significant additional studies with Paul Ellison, Hal Robinson, Ben Hong, Joel Quarrington, Albert Laszlo, and Chris Hanulik. Will has performed chamber music with members of the LA Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony. He has spent the last four summers as a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, and participated in the Lake George, Domaine Forget, Wabass Institute, and Colorado College music festivals. Will believes music can be a powerful tool for social justice and is a frequent collaborator with Los Angeles Street Symphony. After completing the NAC Institute for Orchestral Studies in 2015, Will returned to USC and completed a master’s degree on full scholarship with a 4.0 GPA. Will is currently a recipient of the Harriet Halle Woolley Artist’s Fellowship from the Fondation des Etats-Unis to study in Paris with double bass virtuoso François Rabbath.
Orlando Bass is a student at the CNSMD in Paris since 2013, where he was first accepted in a writing class, then in 2014 in the accompaniment class and in 2015 in the piano and improvisation classes. He obtained in 2014 his prize for harmony and counterpoint, in 2015 the fugue. He already performed in several festivals as a pianist and harpsichordist and also plays jazz and improvised music.