UW-River Falls

Michael Watson

Lecturer of Music

Michael Watson

Lecturer of Music
Applied Double Bass

M.M.E, Northwestern University
B.A., Eastman School of Music
Orchestral Training Program, Guildhall School of Music and Drama,
London, England

website: www.mwatsonmusic.com
e-mail: michael@mwatsonmusic.com

I am a music teacher, double bass performer, and web site designer in the St. Paul, Minnesota area. I currently teach at Coon Rapids High School and teach several private bass students from around the metro area. I am an adjunct instructor at Hamline University and the University of Wisconsin at River Falls. I perform frequently with local professional groups, including the Minnesota Opera. I maintain several websites, including a Tuning Guide web site, which has over 200 visitors a week from all over the world. I manage websites for the Minnesota String and Orchestra Teachers Assocation (mnsota.org), the Suzuki Association of Minnesota (suzukiminnesota.org), and Coon Rapids High School (www.anoka.k12.us/crhs).

Music Educator Background
I am an orchestra teacher and private bass instructor in the St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. Currently, I am the Orchestra Director at Coon Rapids High School. I also maintain a studio of 6 to 10 private students that I teach at my home. Many students have performed with the Minnesota Youth Symphonies, the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies. and the Minnesota All-State Orchestra and the MnSOTA Middle Level Honors Orchestra. I have worked with several students who have gone on to becoming teachers and performers.

I am also the adjunct bass instructor at Hamline University and the University of Wisconsin at River Falls. I also held prior positions at St. Cloud State University as well Abingdon School and St. Edward's School in Oxford, England. I also have experience teaching younger, beginning students from 4 year old Suzuki students up to adults, including several adults who have switched from electric to upright bass.

I have a Master's Degree in Music Education from Northwestern University and I received my bachelor's degree in performance from the Eastman School of Music and my bachelor's degree in music education from St. Cloud State University. I also have a Certificate of Advanced Orchestral Studies from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Double Bass Performer Background

I frequently perform with many groups around the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota area including the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and the Minnesota Opera. During the 2007-08 I will be performing with the Minnesota Opera in their productions of The Masked Ball and Rusalka. I also play with a small ensemble for Masses at St. Charles Borromeo Church in St. Anthony, Minnesota.

I have performed with orchestras in the Japan and England as well as in the United States. I have worked with several well known conductors, including Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Colin Davis, Roger Norrington, Zubin Mehta, and Henry Charles Smith. I have also performed with several well know artists, including Gil Shaham, Lynn Harrell, Joseph Swenson, Zwi Zeitlin, Jefferey Kahane and Bryn Tervel.

I studied with several noteable teachers, including Tom Martin, Bruce Bransby, James VanDemark, and Paul Ousley. I have a bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music and completed a one year Post-Diploma Orchestra Program at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where I was a student on full scholarship.