Double Bass Studio

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Lamont offers an exceptional environment for bassists, combining individualized instruction with world-class resources and performance opportunities. Our studio is vibrant and collaborative, where double bassists challenge and support one another in pursuit of artistic excellence. Guided by Prof. Nicholas Recuber, students engage in intensive private lessons, chamber music, performance class, large ensembles, and masterclasses with renowned guest artists. In Lamont’s double bass studio, students celebrate each other’s successes and push one another to reach new artistic heights.

Audition Requirements

Double Bass Auditions

Studying Double Bass at Lamont

As a double bass student at Lamont, you’ll join a creative community dedicated to giving you the tools and resources needed to discover your musical identity and prepare for a dynamic, 21st-century career. Under the guidance of Prof. Nicholas Recuber, students explore a personalized path through classical, jazz, and contemporary styles, with a focus on their individual goals and artistic direction.

Each week centers around your private lesson and rehearsals with the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and our excellent chamber ensembles. Bassists also take part in a weekly studio class that hones instrument-specific skills such as orchestral excerpts, etudes, and technique. Additionally, you’ll have a weekly string performance class to perform regularly, receive supportive feedback from peers and faculty, and become part of a vibrant and supportive community. With state-of-the-art facilities and a personalized curriculum, Lamont equips double bassists with the skills, versatility, and confidence to succeed in any musical setting.

Outside the studio, opportunities abound. Lamont’s size allows for personalized attention and meaningful connections, while the city of Denver offers a vibrant music scene with regional orchestras, gigs, and teaching opportunities. Our students are active performers in the community and often get paid work before they even graduate.

If you’re looking for a place to grow as a musician, artist, and individual, the Lamont double bass studio offers a vibrant and supportive home.

4-6 double bass students at Lamont

Over 5 ensembles to participate in each quarter

300+ performance opportunities per year

Faculty

Lamont bassists study with Prof. Nicholas Recuber, Assistant Principal Bassist of the Colorado Symphony. Prof. Recuber has performed with major orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Atlanta Symphony, as well as at festivals like Grand Teton and the Colorado Music Festival. Trained in both jazz and classical music, he holds degrees from Rowan University, Juilliard, and USC, and has performed across genres with artists such as Gregory Porter and Nathaniel Rateliff. A dedicated educator, Prof. Recuber has taught at multiple institutions, published Fantasies for Double Bass with Carl Fischer Music, and continues to inspire the next generation of bassists.

Nicholas Recuber

Adjunct Faculty, Bass

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Bass student performs with Lamont Symphony Orchestra

Degree Programs

The Celebrated Artist-Teacher String Series (CATS) brings together a unique, world-class series of celebrated artists-teachers from university music schools across the nation.
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Bass students rehearse in orchestra dress rehearsal

Auditions

Applicants may choose to either audition in person in Denver OR submit a recorded video audition.

Applications received after January 15 will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. You may indicate your preference for a live or virtual audition on the Lamont application.

Click here to view the current year’s audition dates and the full steps for how to apply.

In-Person Audition Requirements
All auditions are approximately 15 minutes in length. The applicant will choose one of their prepared works to perform. The faculty will choose the second of the prepared works and possibly an additional work as well.
Undergraduate (BM, BA and Minor)
- One etude from one of the following collections:
  - Kreutzer, Nanny or Simandl 30 Etudes
- One solo of the applicant's choosing, examples include:
  - An exposition from a standard concerto
  - A piece from Koussevitzky's 4 pieces
  - A movement from a Bach cello or gamba suite
- One orchestral solo, examples include:
  - Haydn Symphony 31, Horn Signal solo
  - Prokofiev Lt. Kije, solo
  - Stravinsky Pulcinella suite, solo from movement VII
Graduate (MM and Certificate in Performance)
- The first movement from any standard concerto
- One movement from any Bach cello suite; transpositions are acceptable
- Three orchestral excerpts in total, one each from a work by:
  - Mozart
  - Brahms
  - Beethoven
Review Requirements for Artist Diploma
Review Requirements for Certificate in Orchestral Studies
Video Audition Requirements
Applicants unable to travel to Denver for a live audition may submit a video audition via the Lamont application. Repertoire may be recorded separately in multiple takes; editing within each take is prohibited.
Undergraduate (BM, BA and Minor)
- One etude from one of the following collections:
  - Kreutzer, Nanny or Simandl 30 Etudes
- One solo of the applicant's choosing, examples include:
  - An exposition from a standard concerto
  - A piece from Koussevitzky's 4 pieces
  - A movement from a Bach cello or gamba suite
- One orchestral solo, examples include:
  - Haydn Symphony 31, Horn Signal solo
  - Prokofiev Lt. Kije, solo
  - Stravinsky Pulcinella suite, solo from movement VII
Graduate (MM and Certificate in Performance)
- The first movement from any standard concerto
- One movement from any Bach cello suite; transpositions are acceptable
- Three orchestral excerpts in total, one each from a work by:
  - Mozart
  - Brahms
  - Beethoven
Review Requirements for Artist Diploma
Review Requirements for Certificate in Orchestral Studies

Life After Lamont

Lamont students have worked with some of the most prestigious music organizations in the world. Alumni have performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, Wolf Trap, Vancouver Symphony, Broadway, the West End, and San Francisco Opera. Lamont composers have premiered works at Carnegie Hall and the Monterey Jazz Festival, and conductors have led orchestras from Brazil to Hungary. Graduates of our Musicology and music theory programs hold posts at prestigious institutions nationwide. And our recording and production students have launched careers in Hollywood, editing soundtracks for films like Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.