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Sunday, March 1, 2026

See the page for full list of repertoire and performers

9:00 am — Jeff Mangone - Class

10:30 am — Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Double Bass Section

1:00 pm — Max Dimoff - Class

3:00 pm — Kurt Muroki - Class

6:00 pm — Rachael Calin - Class

8:00 pm — Nina Bernat - Performance

All performances and classes are held in Kresge Theatre in the College of Fine Arts

American double bassist Nina Bernat, acclaimed for her interpretive maturity, expressive depth and technical clarity, has carved out a distinctive career as a soloist, redefining the role of her instrument on the world stage. She was hailed by the Star Tribune as a “standout” for her recent concerto debut with the Minnesota Orchestra, praising her performance as “exhilarating, lovely and lyrical… technically precise and impressively emotive.”

In 2023, Nina was awarded both the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and first prize at the Concert Artists Guild Elmaleh Competition. Her recent accolades also include top prizes at the Barbash J.S. Bach String Competition, Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, Juilliard Double Bass Competition, and the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. She has given New York recital debuts at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Hall and has appeared as soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra and Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra.

Engaged in all aspects of double bass performance, she has been invited to perform as guest principal bassist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Oslo Philharmonic, serving under the batons of conductors such as András Schiff and Osmo Vänskä. She can also be heard performing with New York-based chamber orchestra Sejong Soloists.

Widely recognized for her compelling presence in chamber music settings, Nina is a member of the Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has appeared at renowned festivals such as Marlboro Music Festival, Verbier Festival, Music@Menlo, Chamber Music Northwest, and the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival.

She is quickly becoming a sought-after pedagogue, having given masterclasses at the Colburn School, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, University of Texas at Austin among others. She currently serves on the faculty of Stony Brook University.

Nina performs on an instrument passed down from her father, Mark Bernat, attributed to Guadagnini.

Maximilian Dimoff is the principal bass of The Cleveland Orchestra. Mr. Dimoff was appointed as Assistant Principal bass of the San Antonio Symphony while still a student at Northwestern University. He was quickly promoted to the principal position and soon was performing in the summers after winning a position with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. Before coming to Cleveland Mr. Dimoff moved back to his hometown to play with the Seattle Symphony for three seasons. He is a former professor at The University of Michigan and is currently on the faculty at The Cleveland Institute of Music where he was Double Bass Department Head for seventeen years. He has appeared as soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, as well as on tour at Carnegie Hall, in Europe and The Blossom Music Center. Mr. Dimoff performs on a double bass made by Antonio Mariani from 1651.

Former Artist Member with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Professor Kurt Muroki began his musical studies on the violin at the age of six and subsequently performed concerti with the Honolulu Symphony and the Maui Symphony. Mr. Muroki went on to study the Double bass at the age of 13 and entered the Juilliard School of Music at 17 studying with his teacher / mentor Homer R. Mensch. At the age of 21 Kurt began performing with the internationally renowned Sejong Soloists under ICM Management. Kurt has performed with the The Jupiter Chamber Players, Speculum Musicae, “Great Performers” series at Lincoln Center, Ensemble Sospeso, Sequitur, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, Tokyo Opera Nomori, New York City Ballet, 92nd St. Y, and Bargemusic. Festivals include Marlboro Music Festival, Festival L’Autonne at IRCAM, and Aspen Music Festival to name a few. Kurt is also active playing movies, commercials, popular, and classical recordings with titles including the Oscar winning film “The Departed”, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”, “Hitch”, “Julie and Julia”, “The Manchurian Candidate”, “Roger Daltrey Sings Pete Townshend” – The Who, Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Itzhak Perlman . Mr. Muroki has won numerous competitions including 1st prize in the Aspen Music Festival double bass competition, the first bassist to win the New World Symphony concerto competition, and the Honolulu Symphony Young Artists competition. He has collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Tokyo, Orion quartets, Ensemble Wein-Berlin, Jaime Laredo, Lynn Harrell, Maurice Bourgue, Toru Takemitsu, Peter Schickele, John Zorn, and Brian Ferneyhough among others, and has performed concerto tours throughout Asia and the United States. Professor Muroki is currently a Tenured Professor at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, faculty at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, teaches at New York String Orchestra Seminar, and has been a judge at the Yale Gordon Competition at Peabody Conservatory, ASTA, and others. Mr Muroki is a past Board Member of the International Society of Bassists and is a D’Addario Strings Artist. Thank you D’addario for all you do for the musical community!!!!

Kurt is also a former Artist/Lecturer at Stony Brook University, Distinguished Artist at the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University, Adjunct Faculty at the Juilliard School, and Faculty at the NJ City University.

Kurt plays on a double bass once owned by the famous double bassist Domenico Dragonetti and attributed to Nicolo Amati circa 1665, a fantastic bass by Arnold E Schnitzer, and bows by George Rubino, Eugene Sartory, Victor Fetique, and “Emile A Ouchard * New York”

Celebrated for her proficiency as both a pedagogue and a performer, Rachel Calin has been called “a lyrical soloist in command of her instrument,” by the New York Times. In 1994 she won the Juilliard Concerto Competition, making her concerto debut at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Orchestra. Subsequently, she has made concerto appearances with the Burlington Ensemble, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, and the Sejong Soloists.

As a chamber musician, Calin has appeared in concert throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. She can be heard on NPR’s Performance Today, both in live and recorded broadcasts, and has collaborated with Myung-Wha Chung, Lawrence Dutton, Leon Fleisher, Frank Huang, Ron Leonard, Itzhak Perlman and Gil Shaham, among others.

She has performed frequently with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, and has made appearances at the Aspen Music Festival, Live from Lincoln Center, Mostly Mozart, and Ravinia. Calin can also be heard on numerous movie and commercial soundtracks, including The Departed and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. She has given the world premieres of works by composers such as Lera Auerbach and D. Edward Davis, and has performed with many contemporary music ensembles including Sequitur, Composers Concordance, and Metropolis Ensemble.

Calin received a BM and MM from the Juilliard School, where she studied with both Homer Mensch and Eugene Levinson. In addition to Juilliard, she also trained with Jeff Bradetich, Paul Ellison and Denise Searfoss. She was the recipient of an instrument loan from the Karr Foundation, and currently performs on a double bass crafted by Carlo Giuseppe Testore in 1690.

Jeff Mangone, full time professional player and teacher of double bass and electric bass guitar, has played virtually every style of music in local, national, and international venues in a career that began in 1972.   He is currently the principal bassist of the orchestras of the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, Wheeling Symphony, Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Broadway Series, and the PBS “My Music” Series.  He has been a substitute bassist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.  He has performed and/or lectured at every Pittsburgh Double Bass Symposium and is the only freelance bassist to be so honored.  His active jazz career has included concerts, touring, and recording with artists that include Ken Karsh, Joe Negri, Opie Bellas, Bo Wagner, Donna Groom, Julia Eglar, Richard Stoltzman, Vic Damone, Rosemary Clooney, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Pops, and countless others.  Since 1979, he has served on the faculty of the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Music.  He has also served on the faculties of the Slippery Rock University Department of Music-1997 to 2009, the Indiana University of PA Department of Music-1990-1997, and the West Virginia University Department of Music-1978 to 1987.  Many of his former students have gone on to careers in orchestras, jazz groups, touring Broadway musicals, and recording studios throughout the United States and the world.   Jeff is the musical contractor for several arts organizations including the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.  He is married to violist/violinist, Jennifer Gerhard, who serves as principal violist of all of the same musical ensembles!

Jason Heath is the host of Contrabass Conversations, a podcast devoted to exploring music and ideas associated with the double bass.

His blog and podcast are highly regarded in the music world and have been featured as top offerings in the world of arts and culture for the past decade. He is the author of Winning the Audition and Road Warrior Without an Expense Account and his work has been featured in International Musician, TimeOut Chicago, Adaptistration, ArtsHacker, The Scroll, Bass World, Double Bassist, and Bass Musician Magazine.

Jason is Strings Product Manager for Eastman Strings, and he is internationally active as a clinician and consultant.  Jason is a past member of the board of directors for the International Society of Bassists, is past president of the Illinois chapter of the American String Teachers Association and is the past orchestra representative for District VII of the Illinois Music Educators Association.

A highly decorated veteran teacher, Jason is a past faculty member at DePaul University, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Trinity International University.  He currently works with the San Francisco Symphony’s Music and Mentors program and teaches internationally at various bass events, clinics, and master classes.

Jason’s former students hold positions in the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony, and Philharmonie Sudwestfalen. As a high school orchestra director, Jason’s orchestras had many notable performances, including the Midwest Clinic in Chicago and tours in Peru, Spain, and Cuba.

A graduate of Northwestern University, Jason performs with the IRIS Orchestra in Memphis Tennessee and ensembles in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was a member of the Elgin Symphony for 16 seasons and has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony, and numerous other professional ensembles.

Click here for bios.

Nicholas Myers, Principal
Brandon McLean, Associate Principal
Michael Bank, Assistant Principal
Joseph Campagna
Jeffrey Grubbs
Peter Guild
Micah Howard, Stephen & Kimberly Keen Chair
John Moore
Aaron White
Christian Harvey, Paul J. Ross Fellow

Click here for bios.

Micah Howard
Peter Guild

Venezuelan-born pianist Rodrigo Ojeda discovered his passion for music at the very early age of two when his parents made him listened to Carl Orff Trionfo di Afrodite and Carmina Burana, but it was not until the age of ten that Mr. Ojeda began to take his first piano lessons. By the age of fifteen, Mr. Ojeda was invited to perform Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto, with the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Orchestra which was broadcast live on radio and television in Caracas, Venezuela.

A versatile pianist, Mr. Ojeda has frequently performed as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. He has performed in every prominent concert hall in his native Venezuela as well as in Ecuador, Spain, USA and Mexico with an expansive repertoire of Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Gershwin, Grieg, Schumann, Mozart, Liszt (Totentanz), Cesar Frank, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Saint Saëns and Stravinsky. Mr. Ojeda has participated in master classes with numerous concert pianists like Kasimierz Giesrod (former rector of the Frederic Chopin Academy in Warsaw), Marek Jablonsky, Georgy Sandor, Marta Gulyas, and Earl Wild.

Possessing a wide-ranging knowledge of chamber music repertoire, he has collaborated with countless instrumentalists and vocalists worldwide. He has played and recorded several CD’s with various principal members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as well as former Concertmasters Andrés Cárdenes and Noah Bendix-Balgley. Recently, Mr. Ojeda recorded Stravinsky Piano Concerto with Carnegie Mellon’s Wind Ensemble.

Mr. Ojeda received a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance at IUDEM, Venezuela (Institute of Musical Studies) in 1997 with his mentor and pianist Arnaldo Pizzolante, then moved in 1999 to the United States where he received a Master’s Degree and an Artist Diploma at Â鶹´å under Mr. Enrique Graf in 2003.

Currently Mr. Ojeda is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Coaching and Accompanying at Â鶹´å as well as a piano faculty member in its Music Preparatory School. He has also been playing with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since August 2006.

Susanne Park joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's first violin section in 2006, and holds the Dr. Alan & Marsha Bramowitz Chair. She studied violin performance at Boston University with Peter Zazofsky of the Muir String Quartet before joining the San Diego Symphony in 1992. Park came to Pittsburgh in 1996 and served as assistant concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Theatre Orchestras until 2001. 

Susanne Park has won numerous violin competitions, including grand prize at the Mid-America Violin Competition and the Naftzger Young Artist Competition. She has participated in many music festivals including the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute and the Grand Tetons Music Festival in Wyoming. 

In addition to performing with her colleagues in the Pittsburgh Symphony and with other area musicians, Susanne Park enjoys reading, long-distance running and watching others cook. 

Susanne Park is married to John Moore, Pittsburgh Symphony double bassist since 1996, and they live with their son, Oliver, in Lawrenceville. 

Zsche Chuang Rimbo Wong, from Hong Kong, made her concerto debut at Severance Hall and was critically acclaimed as a performer whose “prodigious technique and powerful ability to project was as stunning as her expressive playing” (). She participated as principal violist for many professional organizations as well as festivals around the globe such as Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein and Pacific Music Festival. Wong performs regularly with the Philadelphia Orchestra and A Far Cry, among many other orchestras.

As an avid chamber musician, Wong has performed at notable music festivals such as the Perlman Music Program, Norfolk School of Music, Music from Angel Fire, Taos School of Music, Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, St. Lawrence String Quartet seminar, Yellow Barn (YAP) among others.

After Wong’s undergraduate studies at the Cleveland Institute, she received an artist diploma from the Curtis Institute and received the Curtis ArtistYear fellowship in the following year. With her fellowship she dedicated one year of service to help the underserved-community through music in Philadelphia. Her project partners included Project HOME and Penn Memory Center. Wong’s fellowship not only provided enjoyment, emotional relief and genuine care to the older adult population, but also helped many individuals to regain focus, sense of direction in society and community building skills through various creative music projects.

Wong received her Masters of Music degree from the school of music at Yale University in 2019 before moving immediately to Pittsburgh for a long-term position with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her musical activities, she enjoys cycling, baking and spending time with her cats Whisky and Dumpling. Since the whisky-drinking part is fairly straightforward, she loves experimenting with various ways of wrapping and eating dumplings.

Born in Korea and raised in Toronto, Canada, Dale Jeong was appointed associate principal cellist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at age 21. Dale Jeong holds a Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School in the studio of Clara Minhye Kim. Previously he was a full scholarship student at the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists in the studio of David Hetherington and Joseph Johnson, both from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Dale served as principal cello in the Juilliard Orchestra, Pacific Music Festival Orchestra, Taylor Academy Chamber Orchestra and Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. He was the assistant principal cello at Moritzburg Festival Orchestra in Dresden, Germany. Dale has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras such as the Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Oakville Chamber Orchestra and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, Dale was chosen by CBC Music as one of Canada’s top 30 classical musicians under the age of 30.

During the summer, Dale has attended Pacific Music Festival, Moritzburg Festival Academy, Toronto Summer Music, Yellowbarn Young Artists Program, Morningside Music Bridge, Orford Academy, and Domaine Forget. Passionate in chamber music, he has collaborated with various musicians such as Martin Beaver, Jennifer Stumm, Sharon Wei, Stephanie Gonely and Steven Dann. Dale has performed in many of theworld’s prestigious halls, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Sapporo Concert Hall 'Kitara', and Suntory Hall in Japan.

Dale currently plays on a Canadian cello made by Guy Harrison. Previously he played on Caspar Strnad and Giovanni Grancino cellos, both generously on loan from the Juilliard School

Nicholas Myers was honored to be appointed Principal Bass of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra by music director Manfred Honeck in 2022. Hailing from Cadillac, MI, Nick spent four seasons playing in the bass section of his home state’s Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which he joined in 2018 after his final year of graduate school. Recognizing the importance of musician representation, he was part of almost every elected committee in Detroit, and in his second season with the PSO he began serving on the Orchestra Committee. Nicholas is a Pirastro Strings artist, and performs in the orchestra on a full-size 1836 Abraham Prescott (Concord, NH) double bass. 

Nick attained his high school diploma from Interlochen Arts Academy, his Bachelor of Music degree from New England Conservatory, and his Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where he was a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship. He considers himself very fortunate to have studied with primary teachers Lawrence Wolfe, Todd Seeber, Rex Surany, and Hal Robinson, being exposed to a broad variety of musical styles and philosophies. In between the school years, Nick had two meaningful summers each at the Pacific Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and the Tanglewood Music Center.  

Nick and his wife live in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh and love to explore the unique flavor of each distinct neighborhood of the city. In his free time, Nick enjoys cycling, learning patience through golf, DIY projects and woodworking, reading histories, and cooking.

Brandon McLean is the associate principal bass of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Prior to his appointment to the position in 2016, he served as principal bass of the Colorado Symphony, associate principal bass of the Vancouver Symphony and assistant principal bass of the Florida Orchestra. Originally from Seattle, Washington, McLean started music studies in the public school system. From there, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of North Texas and a master's degree from the Boston Conservatory, and spent additional time studying at Â鶹´å. His primary teachers include Jeff Bradetich, Jeffrey Turner, Ben Levy and Ben Musa. McLean was a fellow of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach for three years and has participated in many prestigious summer festivals, including Tanglewood, Verbier, National Repertory Orchestra and Artosphere. In his free time, McLean enjoys hiking, fishing and cooking.

Michael Banks joined the Pittsburgh Symphony as Assistant Principal Bass in the Spring of 2025 under the direction of Manfred Honeck. He earned his bachelor's degree from the Juilliard School as a student of Rex Surany, and his master's degree from the Colburn School studying with Peter Lloyd.

Michael has performed as a substitute with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the L.A. Phil New Music Group, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He has also been a fellow at the Center for Orchestral Leadership at the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Joseph Campagna joined the bass section of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in May 2016. Prior to his Pittsburgh appointment, he was a member of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra for five years. He has also performed as a substitute musician with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra.

In 2003, Campagna attended Temple University, where he studied with Philadelphia Orchestra bassist John Hood. In 2004, he was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Harold Robinson, principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Edgar Meyer.

While attending Curtis, Campagna was a member of Symphony in C (formerly the Haddonfield Symphony) based in Camden, New Jersey. He was also a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Verbier, Switzerland, from 2009 to 2011.

Campagna plays on a bass made by Giovanni Cavani in Modena, Italy, circa 1890.

Jeffrey Grubbs, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, comes from a family of music-loving non-musicians. He started as a violinist through his public elementary school at age nine and later switched to the double bass at age 18. He went on to pursue his musical training at Youngstown State University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Southern California. He was also fortunate to be a recipient of the Music Assistance Fund (now the Sphinx Organization) Orchestral Fellowship, which gave him the opportunity to perform as a full-time member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for two years. 

From there Grubbs went on to win a position in the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in 1991 and has now been a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since 1996. 

In addition to his orchestral achievements, Jeffrey Grubbs is also an accomplished jazz bassist. He has performed and recorded with many touring internationally-known jazz artists and is currently actively performing in the Pittsburgh jazz community. 

Jeffrey Grubbs has served as a faculty member of Â鶹´å, Florida International University, Clark-Atlanta University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Slippery Rock University. He also served as associate professor of jazz double bass at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Peter Guild joined the double bass section of the Pittsburgh Symphony in 1999. Previously he had been a member of the Columbus and Toledo Symphonies. He grew up in Portland, Oregon, and took up the cello and bass in the North Clackamas School District string programs where he studied with bassist and string teacher Dave Anderson. Without the music programs in the public schools, it is unlikely that he would have ever played a musical instrument. He later studied with Mount Hood Community College's Larry Zgonc. Mr. Guild earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in bass performance from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Stuart Sankey. Other teachers include Steve Molina, Jeff Turner, and prolific electric bass recording artist Carol Kaye.

Peter enjoys arranging and composing music in all genres, and teaches double bass orchestral repertoire at Â鶹´å.

Micah Howard enjoys an enriching career as both a performer and a teacher. He joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1996 at the age of 25. As a Pittsburgh Symphony member, he has toured five continents, including Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and North America. Howard regularly performs as a recitalist and chamber musician. He has also been featured as a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. 

Micah Howard has always been active as a music educator. In addition to private teaching, he regularly serves as a lecturer for various universities, coaches youth ensembles, such as the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Youngstown Youth Symphony Orchestra, and in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Symphony's outreach program, visits local grade schools and high schools to coach ensembles and promote music education. Howard also served on the board of directors of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra for many years. He taught string bass as adjunct faculty at the Dana School of Music, Youngstown State University from 2000 to 2006, and Duquesne University from 2006 to 2014. Howard currently serves as Assistant Teaching Professor of Double Bass at Â鶹´å. In 2010 Howard received the award for Outstanding String Teacher by the Pennsylvania-Delaware String Teachers Association for his outstanding achievement as a string teacher and his contributions to the string profession. 

As a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony, Micah Howard has served on several committees. He was most notably a member of the core audition committee for five years, serving as chair for two of those years. While on this committee, he played a role in hiring more than twenty full-time and substitute members of the orchestra. He was also involved in creating a new process instituted in 2005 to hire new musicians. He has also served as a member of the Orchestra and Artistic Committees. 

Micah Howard is also very active as a member of the double bass community. He has organized several double bass symposiums in Youngstown, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. These symposiums bring together prominent bassists from around the country to perform recitals, serve as lecturers, and give master classes. He has also served as a contributing writer for Bass World Magazine. 

Micah Howard received his Bachelor of Music degree from Youngstown State University and his Master of Music degree from Duquesne University School of Music. His teachers include Tony Leonardi, Rodney Van Sickle, Edward Pales, Peter Paul Adamiac and Jeffrey Turner. In 1995 he took first place in the International Society of Bassists Orchestral Competition.

John Moore became a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1996, hired by Music Director Lorin Maazel.

Prior to joining the Pittsburgh Symphony, Moore held the title of associate principal bass with the Honolulu Symphony from 1989 to 1991, then was a member of the San Diego Symphony and principal bass of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra from 1991 to 1996. Moore moved to the East Coast in 1996, where he was awarded the position of principal bass of the Columbus Symphony.

John Moore won first place in the La Jolla Symphony Solo Competition in 1993 performing the Koussevitsky double bass concerto.  He has performed with numerous music festivals including the National Repertory Orchestra, the Tanglewood Music Festival, Shleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Colorado Music Festival, Strings in the Mountains and the Grand Teton Music Festival. Moore has also served as a lecturer at the University of Hawaii in 1991, and as an interim double bass professor at Penn State University in 2008.

John Moore has performed extensively as a soloist and as a chamber musician in and around Pittsburgh since 1996. In recent years  he has been involved with early music and has performed occasionally with Pittsburgh's Chatham Baroque, appearing in Chatham's December 2013 performances of J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.

John Moore earned his Bachelor of Music degree at the Curtis Institute of Music in 1988, studying the double bass with Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Roger Scott.  He continued his studies with Lawrence Wolfe at the New England Conservatory in 1988.

John Moore is married to Susanne Park, a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony's first violin section. They live in Lawrenceville with their son, Oliver. Moore plays on a two-hundred-year-old English bass made by Jon Betts.

Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, bassist Aaron White began his musical studies in the public school system after moving to Irving, Texas. He continued his studies at Southern Methodist University and then Duquesne University. His principal teachers include Thomas Lederer and Jeffrey Turner.

Aaron White has given master classes and recitals at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Pennsylvania State University, Southern Methodist University, Â鶹´å, and DePaul University. In 2012, 2014, and 2016 he performed with the All-Star Orchestra lead by Gerard Schwarz, which aired locally and nationally on PBS. In 2015, Aaron began teaching at Duquesne University as an adjunct professor of double bass and is currently the string area coordinator. 

Prior to joining the Pittsburgh Symphony, Aaron White was a member of the Louisville Orchestra and the Florida Orchestra.

Christian Harvey, a double bassist from Riverdale, GA, is part of a rising generation of double bassists. His musical journey began at Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts, where he performed at venues including Carnegie Hall (NY). While in graduate school in Houston, TX, he was a Community Embedded Fellow with the Houston Symphony, helping organize and perform concerts throughout the city. He also joined the Young Artist Program with DACAMERA, developing as a passionate, forward-thinking “citizen artist.” Christian is the 2025–2027 Resident Fellow with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He has participated in the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra, Texas Music Festival, Domaine Forgét, and Sewanee Music Center. In 2023, he placed third in the National Association for Negro Musicians Strings Competition and was a 2024 finalist in the Ima Hogg Concerto Competition. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at Columbus State University (GA) under Jackie Pickett and Patricia Weitzel, and his Master’s at Rice University under Paul Ellison and Timothy Pitts.