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Harold Robinson performs Jon Deak’s “Jack and the Beanstalk”

November 5th, 2007

      Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum!   A very interesting combination of fairy tale and double bass is on the docket in the foreseeable future.  I smell the blood of an Englishman.   Harold Robinson, Principal Bassist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, is scheduled to perform this week as a featured soloist with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.  On the evening of November 10th at 8:00, he will be playing the double bass concerto “Jack and the Beanstalk”  composed by fellow bassist Jon Deak.  Be he ‘live, or be he dead,  This will be a very engaging and exciting experience for bassists and non-bassists alike.  I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.

        It has been said that double bassists are very rarely soloists and the repertory for concerto appearances is basically non-existent.  Leave it to Mr. Robinson to debunk these myths.   This concert will be his second concerto appearance in less than a year.  Last January,  he performed John Harbison’s “Concerto for Bass Viol” with the Philadelphia Orchestra.  I was fortunate to be able to hear one of these concerts and I enjoyed it very much.  Harold has also performed “Jack and the Beanstalk” with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C.  He was formally the principal bass of the National Symphony Orchestra, before he moved to Philadelphia for his current position.  

        Double bassist and composer Jon Deak has written several pieces for double bass.  For example, some frequently performed works are B. B. Wolf, The Ugly Duckling, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, just to name a few.   Jon Deak is the associate principal bass of the New York Philharmonic.  For more information about Mr. Deak click here.

       In addition to his playing responsibilities, Harold Robinson is an avid and very sought after teacher.  He is the double bass instructor at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.  In addition, he is a frequent guest clinician at music festivals and universities worldwide.  For more information about Harold Robinson click here.

    For concert and ticket info, visit YoungstownSymphony.com.

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