Upright Bass with Darren S.

Darren is one of the leading private teachers for double bass lessons in Greater Boston and specializes in audition preparation for music festivals, colleges, and youth orchestra programs. Darren focuses on improving his students' playing ability by focusing on their technique, phrasing, tone, and by providing insight on the way they approach practicing. Darren is currently a substitute double bassist for the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Cape Symphony and New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. He is also an adjunct instructor for double bass at University of Massachusetts Boston. Darren has also performed in several professional orchestras across Connecticut including the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra, the New Britain Symphony Orchestra, and the Wallingford Symphony Orchestra. While studying with Darren, his students' achievements have included performing in the MMEA All-States Festival, getting promoted to more competitive ensembles within the New England Conservatory (NEC) Preparatory Division, participating in Berklee College of Music's "City Music" program, performing in the MMEA Northeast Senior District Festival, the Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestra, Greater Bridgeport Youth Symphony (CT)), the Fine Arts program at the American Heritage School of Boca Raton (FL), and the CJMEA Elementary Honors Orchestra (NJ). Darren has been instrumental in helping his students prepare successful auditions to gain acceptance into other top music colleges such as Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music. In the past, he has also recommended some of his students to double bass luthier apprenticeships. At University of Massachusetts Boston, music majors that have studied with Darren have been recognized for the departmental jury prize. The Jury Prize at UMass Boston recognizes a single student that (usually out of the more than 50 students required to play juries for the semester) performs an exceptional jury and is rewarded with a scholarship for their upcoming academic term. Darren has been invited to conduct double bass lectures for students majoring in music education at Longy School of Music and University of Massachusetts Boston. In the past he has also coached chamber ensembles at the Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestra and the Rivers School Conservatory. Darren received his Master's degree in Double Bass Performance from Boston Conservatory, and received his Bachelor's degree in Double Bass Performance, graduating summa-cum-laude from the Hartt School. Darren studied privately with world-renowned double bass musicians including Lawrence Wolfe, assistant principal bass of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Robert Black, founding member of the New York City-based contemporary ensemble, Bang On A Can. Darren has received additional instruction from well-known double bassists from the Boston Symphony Orchestra including Edwin Barker, Benjamin Levy, Dennis Roy, James Orleans, Todd Seeber, and Thomas Van Dyck, double bassists from the New York Philharmonic such as Eugene Levinson and Orin O'Brien, as well as Albert Laszlo from the Juilliard School. Darren is a bass teaching artist for El Sistema Somerville, an after-school orchestra program that empowers all students to become confident, engaged learners through rigorous, daily instruction in music ensembles and also provides the Somerville community with equitable access to musical excellence. Darren has been instrumental in helping El Sistema Somerville double bass students win the Berklee Performing Arts Scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music's "City Music" program. Darren is also currently on Harvard's Office For The Arts' reference list which is a compilation of instructors who teach Harvard students. The listing is considered a starting point reference to Harvard students looking for quality music instructors in the Boston area and, in some cases, are awarded stipends to study with Darren. Students majoring in music at various colleges and universities (including students studying at music programs such as Valdosta State University) also take private lessons with Darren for additional help with honing their solos, orchestral excerpts, and technique. In his spare time, Darren enjoys writing and publishing his own insightful articles on Medium on practicing the double bass.