President's Corner — Volume 47 #1

Ahhh autumn! At least where I live in upstate New York near Lake Ontario, autumn has arrived, and with it the return to cycles of learning and growth. I often feel that autumn is 'back to basics' time. We are all excited to grow, to do new and different things, and at the same time as a teacher, I know that we are going to do all those things on the foundation of excellent "basics".

In my bass studio, this means going over all the equipment — is the bridge height correct now that the summer humidity has (finally) floated off? Does the bow hair need to be replaced? I bet that rosin is a mess and needs another look… And for my students themselves, we enjoy easing back in with a check-in on rudimentaries: how is the hand shape, the bow cradle, the basics of intonation in their scales, what is their home practice setup, and a short review of the last works they played at the end of the previous semester.

The very first lesson back in the studio, we all spend part of that hour setting goals or intentions for the year. And I dare my students to dream big! We'll look at how to move from that Big Goal to the incremental steps it takes to get there, week by week, practice by practice.

One Big Goal I have for myself that I want to invite all of you to join in on — share your Music and your time with us at the 2025 convention in Florida this coming June!

What are the fundamentals that will support you at the convention? Let's look at it from the ISB motto, Educate, Connect, Inspire:

• Educate — See what's happening with the luthiers and bow makers right now, you can even peek in on the Build-a-Bass workshop and see what it takes to make a bass in real time! Attend sessions about performance, pedagogy, new music, and more.
• Connect — Nurture your network: meet the bassists you have heard, seen, and read about, your peers from around the world of all ages.
• Inspire — Immerse yourself in sessions and performances that feed your artistic soul.

Another long-term goal I'd like to ask of you, gentle reader, is to get more deeply involved with your ISB. We are a membership of bassists, led by bassists. Our board is entirely volunteer, just as all the presenters and performers at the convention are volunteers. Before I joined the board in 2015, I asked then president Douglas Mapp just how someone got involved in the ISB. It seemed to me that you had to be famous, and I wondered if workaday people like me could be of use to the organization? He was so welcoming in his response, and I want to pay that forward to all of you. There are many teams within the ISB, and a great first step to getting more deeply involved is to share your time with a team in your expertise area. Projects move forward from ISB member and board suggestions to reality through this team format. We currently have a number of teams:

• Convention — led by Sandor Ostlund
• Development — led by Tommy Hawthorne
• Diversity & Inclusion — led by Hollie Greenwood
• Education — led by Joel Braun
• Finance — led by Jay Meder
• Governance — led by Hans Sturm
• International — led by Gabriele Ragghianti
• Marketing — led by Patricia Weitzel
• Membership — led by Jessica Valls
• Technology — led by Kurt Melendy
• Young Bassists — led by Dennis Whittaker

The opportunity to move from "the ISB should do ____" to seeing it happen is all waiting for you — it's your ISB! Please reach out to any of the team members or email me directly to talk about your dreams with the ISB.

Gaelen McCormick
2023-2025 President, ISB

Read this issue of Bass World, Volume 47 #1 (Members Only).

Archive

• Current
• Volume 46 #3
• Volume 46 #2
• Volume 46 #1