This week we feature two double bassists, both of whom have just graduated from both high school and Midwest Young Artists Conservatory under the mentorship of Founder & President, Dr. Allan Dennis. Jacob Fisher and Ian King present music by Giovanni Bottesini, Reinhold Glière, Paul Hindemith, Giancarlo Aquilanti, and Lloyd Goldstein; and both play movements from JS Bach’s Cello Suites.
Jacob Fisher, 18, is a recent graduate of Highland Park High School. He started taking Suzuki bass lessons at age 3, and he currently studies with Ian Hallas of the Chicago Lyric Opera. One of his favorite things as a bassist has been attending the Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists Conference in Madison, Wisconsin every year since age 3.
In 2018, he won the Early Music Category and received an Honorable Mention in the Junior Strings Division of the Walgreens National Concerto Competition. He has also received recognition in the International Society of Bassists (ISB) Solo Competition: an Honorable Mention in 2017 and Third Place in 2019 in the 14-and-under Division in 2017; and being named a finalist in the 15-to-18-year-old division in 2021.
Jacob was a member of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory for five years, playing in the Concert Orchestra, the Jazz Workshop, and the Symphony Orchestra. In 2021, Jacob was co-principal bassist in the Illinois Music Educations Association District 7 regional orchestra and placed 5th in the honors all-state orchestra. He played in the Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo at HPHS. Jacob was chosen by his classmates to win the Woody Herman Jazz Award in 2022 and Louis Armstrong Jazz Award in 2023. Jacob was also a varsity high school swimmer for four years.
Jacob will attend Vanderbilt University this fall, where he plans to study Economics with a minor in Double Bass Performance.
Ian King, 18, hails from Lisle and recently graduated from Naperville North High School. He studies double bass with Andy Anderson.
He played for a number of years in the Golden Trio, a chamber group formed at Opus Music Camp with violinist Sofia Radovic and pianist Miriam Kessler. The trio appeared on Introductions in in July 2021 following their quarter-final placement in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.
In the fall, Ian will attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, majoring in the biomedical sciences.