Nicholas
Walker is an accomplished musician who brings a broad
range of training and experience to the string bass: classical
and jazz, modern and baroque, solo recitals and chamber
ensembles, his enthusiasm and aptitude transcend arbitrary
musical boundaries.
Now
finishing his DMA in Early Music at Stony Brook University,
Walker studied with Paul Ellison at the Shepherd School
of Music at Rice University where he received a BMA in
1994. As a Fulbright Scholar (1994-95) he trained with
the pioneering maestro of the string bass, François
Rabbath at the Nadia Boulanger Conservatoire in Paris.
His research focused on pedagogical components of
Rabbath's "Nouvelle Technique de la Contrabasse", and
adapting Rabbath's technique and repertoire for
the American Jazz and Latin music traditions.
An
inventive composer, Walker features the string bass in
chamber music and improvisational contexts. In 1998 the
International Society of Bassists awarded him Grand Prize
for his composition, EADG for Solo Bass .
Recent commissions include Little Newt for the
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, a sextet,
Magnus Caligus for Ardesco, and Pop
Song for String Bass and String Orchestra for the
American String Teachers Association, which Walker will
premier with the University of South Carolina Orchestra
this fall.
Walker
has apprenticed with two master mentors: 13 years with
François Rabbath, and three years touring with
swing era saxophone legend Illinois Jacquet. Walker's
exuberant and versatile performances on string bass have
made him a sought after performer. He has recorded with
Juan Pablo Torres, Blossom Dearie, Anny Gould, Paquito
D'Rivera, and others. During the late 1990s Walker served
as music director and band leader of Bateaux New York,
and also played with a diverse range of New York musicians
and artists, including dancers and filmmakers. Today
he is especially excited about developing a new jazz
trio with saxophonist Lars Jacobson called The
Biased Media.
As
a teacher, Walker demonstrates the art of playing the
broadest sense: he shows the full capacity of the instrument,
and guides students to new levels in the traditional repertoire
as well as in the art of improvisation and creative collaboration.
Walker has been on the faculty at the National Bass Workshop
in Adelaide, Australia; the Domain Forget Music Festival,
Quebec; at the Rabbath Institute, Washington, D.C.; and
he has lectured for both the International Society of
Bassists, and for the American String Teachers Association/National
String Orchestra Association.
Presently
Walker is on the faculty of the Stony Brook Pre-College
program, and he freelances and teaches in and around
New York. He enjoys an active lifestyle performing solo
recitals, 'performance practice' concerts with the Stony
Baroque Players, and a rewarding collaboration with Ardesco,
and The Transfiguration Ensemble, a chamber music collective
devoted to exposing recondite musical treasures of another
age. A new bluegrass crossover recording
by Stolen Shack was recently featured on NPR's All
Songs Considered .
