Edwin Barker is an American

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

player who graduated from the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

. He is Principal Double Bass with the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

and Associate Professor of Music at

Boston University College of Fine Arts The Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) at Boston University consists of the School of Music, the School of Theatre, and the School of Visual Arts. Each school offers degrees in the performing and visual arts at the undergraduate and grad ...

Career

Barker graduated with honors from the

in 1976, where he studied double bass with Henry Portnoi. That same year, while a member of the

Chicago Symphony The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

, he was appointed at age twenty-two to the position of principal bassist of the

. Barker is a sought-after solo/ensemble performer and musician, having performed all around in the world in North America, Europe and, Asia. He is a frequent guest performer with the

Boston Chamber Music Society The Boston Chamber Music Society (BCMS) is an American organization of musicians located in Boston, Massachusetts and dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music. The organization performs works from the Baroque era to the present da ...

in Boston's

Jordan Hall Jordan Hall is a 1,051-seat concert hall in Boston, Massachusetts, the principal performance space of the New England Conservatory. It is one block from Boston's Symphony Hall. It is the only conservatory building in the United States to be de ...

. Barker continues to tour and perform internationally with the

and the

Boston Symphony Chamber Players The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

and has recorded with both groups and Collage, a Boston-based contemporary music ensemble. He is also an accomplished editor, having done his own edition of the bass parts for Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 31 and Gustav Mahler's Symphonies No. 1 and No. 2 at the online publisher Ovation Press. In July 1995, he was chosen by Maestro Sir

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

to lead the bass section of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

' orchestra " Musicians of the World." Barker performed the world premiere of James Yannatos' Bass Concerto (which was written especially for him) with Alea III and subsequently with Collage. He was the featured soloist at the New England premiere of

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...

's Bass Concerto, conducted by the composer, with the Boston Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Barker's major teaching affiliations include the

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

and the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

. Barker inaugurated the 100th Anniversary Season of the

with a solo performance of the Koussevitsky bass concerto, a performance the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' praised as having possessed "everything that makes great artistry - tone, technical equipment, temperament, repose, a keen sense of rhythm, and fine conception." Other solo engagements include appearances at Ozawa Hall at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the T ...

, the Festival of Contemporary Music at Tanglewood, Carnegie Recital Hall's "Sweet and Low" series, and recitals at major universities and conferences throughout the world. His other engagements have included solo appearances with the

Boston Classical Orchestra The Boston Classical Orchestra was a chamber orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1980 by the violinist Robert Brink. The orchestra's music director was Steven Lipsitt. It performed at Faneuil Hall Faneuil Hall ( or ; p ...

as well as with the

in Boston and in Europe.Jason Heath's Double Bass Blog, Edwin Barker
/ref>

References

External links

Contrabass Conversations, Interview with Ed Barker

Ovation Press, Interview with Edwin Barker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Edwin American classical musicians Living people Boston University faculty New England Conservatory alumni Year of birth missing (living people)