New Space for the Double Bass

Heather Miller Lardin (Double Bass '96) recalls Curtis’s remarkable double bass legacy and previews the Carole H. and Emilio A. Gravagno Double Bass Studio and other new facilities for this expansive instrument in Lenfest Hall. 

Heather Miller Lardin
(Double Bass '96)

The double bass teaching studio at Curtis has been located on the third floor of 1726 Locust Street for decades. Students spend a good deal of time in the “Bass Room,” which serves as a convenient practice and rehearsal space when not in use for lessons and studio classes.

On the one hand, space in the main building is in great demand, and a dedicated room is a tremendous luxury for which one should be grateful. On the other hand, it is on the third floor. I stand 5”1’ in heels, and the only polite thing I can say about this is that my four years at Curtis were quite a workout, what with hauling my bass up and down the stairs, or across the catwalk to take the teeny tiny elevator to the ground floor for orchestra rehearsals in what is now Field Concert Hall.

Double bass alumni will be happy to learn that Lenfest Hall will house a new studio for their expansive instrument—the Carole H. and Emilio A. Gravagno Double Bass Studio, which will exist on the same level as the new orchestra rehearsal space. Emilio and Carole Gravagno have given a generous gift to name the spacious new studio facing charming Latimer Street.

Emilio Gravagno (Double Bass ‘58), now retired from the Philadelphia Orchestra after 43 seasons, recalls his time at Curtis (1954-58) as a turning point in his life. He’d been enrolled in a university to study music education, but decided to train for a performance career. The Gravagnos have stayed connected with Curtis and its students throughout the years, attending orchestra concerts, student recitals, and other events. But they wanted to do something more for the school, and the new studio gave them just the opportunity they needed.

Bass teacher Harold Robinson says he enjoys watching the construction on Lenfest Hall almost daily as he walks between the Kimmel Center and Curtis. Mr. Robinson, who holds the A. Margaret Bok Chair in Double Bass Studies at Curtis in addition to being principal double bass with the Philadelphia Orchestra, looks forward to the move with what he calls “unbridled excitement.” Focused as always on his students’ learning, he is particularly pleased that the studio will include audio and video recording facilities with immediate playback.

This will have a huge impact on lessons given by Mr. Robinson and his fellow faculty member Edgar Meyer, as well as on Mr. Robinson’s notoriously successful bass class. Recent graduates are rapidly joining the ranks of the great orchestras, among them Joseph Conyers (Philadelphia Orchestra), Alexander Hanna (Detroit Symphony), and many others.

These young players take their places among previous generations of Curtis students, most of whom studied with Robinson’s predecessor Roger Scott. Mr. Scott’s legacy to Curtis and to double bass pedagogy will be honored in Lenfest Hall with the Roger Scott Practice Room, named via a planned gift by a Curtis alumnus. I spoke with the anonymous donor, who said he felt strongly about the value Curtis has always placed on its own history and the importance of teacher-student lineage. Current and future students may not remember Mr. Scott personally, he noted, but his impact on orchestral double bass playing is felt throughout the world.

   Roger Scott. Photo courtesy of
    the Philadelphia Orchestra
    Association Archives.

When I was a student, the halls adjacent to the old bass studio at 1726 Locust Street were lined with photographs of each Curtis graduating class. We would look at them and read the familiar names while waiting outside for lessons or studio class. Thus I was always aware of the privileged group of musicians to which I belonged, and it is no surprise to me that my fellow alumni wish to support their future colleagues. Double bass culture at Curtis has always been proud and fiercely loyal. Personally, I look forward to seeing the new facility in action and wish future generations of Curtis bass players all the luck in the world.